HARTFORD, Conn — Gov. Ned Lamont announced Tuesday that he won't pursue the electric vehicle sales mandate proposed for 2035.
The proposed regulations were expected to phase out all new sales of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. This proposal comes from a bipartisan law passed in 2004, which tied Connecticut to California’s emissions standards and would have meant Connecticut would continue to adopt the western state's regulations which call for the phase out of of internal combustion engines.
That phase-out of gas-powered cars is in line with current EPA rules which say 56% of new cars must be electric by 2032. Those requirements are still in place but Lamont thinks they will be voided during President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming term.
Republicans argued electric vehicles are unaffordable for most residents and would be hard to implement because the state power grid needs major upgrades.
The Senate Republican Caucus said in a statement, "Republicans welcome the governor’s announcement, but we must continue to stay vigilant. The EV mandate idea will no doubt be brought up again by majority Democrats in the state legislature."
Speaking to reporters, Lamont said, "Look, obviously, Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, is a strong believer that EVs are a big part of our energy future. So there'll be a discussion whether I doubt it's mandates, but I think there may still be some incentives."
When asked if the plan was still being proposed, Lamont said, "No. We were following the federal standards and I think the federal standards are no more."
Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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