HARTFORD, Conn — Facing rising opposition from state Republicans and industry leaders, Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to pull the plug on proposed rules that would have eventually banned the sale of new, gas-powered cars in Connecticut.
The legislature’s Regulation Review Committee was supposed to vote on these new emissions standards Tuesday, but now likely won't.
For months, legislative Republicans have been bashing these proposed regulations 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.
Republicans argue electric vehicles are unaffordable for most residents and would be hard to implement because the state power grid needs major upgrades.
This opposition from Republicans and industry experts led to this last-minute change.
“Setting practical policy, pragmatic policy is a far better direction for our air quality and our environment than setting a mandate that we have no plan how to roll it out,” said state Sen. Stephen Harding, ranking member on the Environment Committee.
The Connecticut Energy Marketers Association (CEMA) president Chris Herb applauded the news Monday night.
“This is a victory for consumers who would have paid a big price tag for the state's efforts to ban gas-powered cars and trucks in the future,” he said in a statement. “However, the battle may not be over. It's unclear what could happen next, but CEMA will continue to be vigilant in our opposition to this reckless policy. This is too much too fast, and we are not ready for an EV-only future.”
In response to the likely removal, environmental advocates are also speaking out.
“Without the clean car and clean truck regulations passing this year, Connecticut will lose the climate, clean air, health, and economic benefits of these life-saving policies,” said Samantha Dynowski, Chapter Director of Sierra Club Connecticut. “Fossil fuel companies and their mouthpieces, like the Yankee Institute, have spent an enormous amount of money so that they can continue to pollute our air and profit from hard-working families. The Governor and leaders in the legislature need to do what all of our neighboring states — and even oil and gas states like New Mexico and Colorado — have done: deliver on clean cars and trucks quickly.”
Lamont is holding a press conference with democratic legislative leaders and DEEP officials Tuesday afternoon “to discuss electric vehicles.”
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