The last surviving Republican bill aimed at overturning a Virginia law that tied the state to emissions standards set by California that will ban the sale of new gas vehicles starting in 2035 reached the end of the road on Tuesday.
The Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee voted 8-7 along party lines to defeat the bill by Del. Tony Wilt, R-Rockingham. Wilt’s legislation previously passed Party Line House of Delegates.
Senators held limited discussion of Wilt’s bill Tuesday after committee Chairman Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, noted that the panel had already adopted and defeated several similar measures this session
However, Wilt argued that Virginia “should separate us from California standards.” The federal vehicle emissions standards the state would follow if it diverged from California’s rules, he said, “are not lacking.”
Under the federal Clean Air Act, states have two options for regulating vehicle emissions: the federal standard or standards promulgated by the California Air Resources Board.
Last year, CARB adopted stricter regulations that will ban the sale of new gas-powered light vehicles by 2035. The rule is being phased in, with 35 percent of new cars sold requiring zero emissions by 2026 , although the provisions allow manufacturers. to bank and commercial credits could reduce this threshold to 20%.
Last week, Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, introduced an amendment to the Senate budget proposal that would have directed the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board “to delay or stop” the implementation of the California standards. Obenshain cited the “impossibility” of meeting regulatory deadlines.
Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, however, said he was “confident in Virginia that we can meet the Clean Car Act standard and make Virginia’s air cleaner and healthier for all of us.” .
Obenshain’s amendment was defeated on a party-line vote.
In addition to concerns about meeting zero-emissions goals, Republicans have warned that an influx of electric vehicles could affect grid reliability and expressed concern about the high costs of electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles are still more expensive than gas cars, although some analysts say that may be changing. On Friday, the News from New York It reported electric vehicles could become “as cheap as or cheaper than cars with internal combustion engines” this year due to incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act and more efficient manufacturing processes.
Virginia Democrats have championed the 2021 law because it puts Virginia at the front of the line to receive electric vehicles from automakers that are transitioning their fleets and will improve air quality. A 2020 report from the advocacy group Virginia Clinics for Climate Action found that “transportation sources are responsible for 190 premature air pollution-related deaths annually in Virginia.”
Several environmental groups, including the Southern Environmental Law Center, League of Conservation Voters and Climate Cabinet Action, praised the defeat of Wilt’s bill.
“Virginia’s participation in the clean car standards has been secured this session because of the climate-friendly majority in the state Senate,” said Blair St. Ledger-Olson, Legislative Director of Climate Cabinet Action in a statement.
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