GOP Wyoming Lawmakers Propose Resolution to Ban Electric Vehicles

While some states, like California, want to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles, GOP lawmakers in Wyoming have a different idea.

Wyoming legislators proposed a resolution to ban the sale of electric vehicles by 2035 to protect the state’s gas and oil industry.

Republican Wyoming lawmakers proposed a ban on the sale of electric vehicles by 2035 to protect the state’s gas and oil industry.

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Senate Joint Resolution 4, sponsored by Senator Jim Anderson (R), expresses “support for phasing out the sale of new electric vehicles in Wyoming by 2035.”

The resolution states the “oil and gas industry in Wyoming has created countless jobs and has contributed revenues to the state of Wyoming throughout the state’s history.”

“Wyoming’s vast stretches of highway, coupled with a lack of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, make the widespread use of electric vehicles impracticable for the state,” the resolution continued.

The resolution stated: “the batteries used in electric vehicles contain critical minerals whose domestic supply is limited and at risk for disruption.”

“Phasing out the sale of new electric vehicles in Wyoming by 2035 will ensure the stability of Wyoming’s oil and gas industry and will help preserve the country’s critical minerals for vital purposes,” the resolution concluded.

Read the full text of Senate Joint Resolution 4.

WATCH:

However, reports from Cowboy State Daily indicate the resolution has died in the Wyoming Legislature.

It failed to gain traction with the Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee meeting Monday, but not without some debate.

The resolution was not a bill and, had it advanced all the way to becoming law, wouldn’t have had the force of a ban.

Its sponsors have said the main purpose was to make a statement against states like California and New York, which are similarly banning the sale of gas-powered cars.

“We didn’t want to make a bill that would say that the dealerships have to really quit selling vehicles,” said Sen. Jim Anderson, R-Casper, the resolution’s sponsor. “We just wanted to make a statement that there is a counter to stopping selling gas vehicles in other states.”

Watch the Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee debate the resolution: