Virginia Senate Kills Proposal to Repeal the Use of California’s Emission Rules

A Tesla car sits parked at a Tesla Supercharger in Petaluma, Calif., on Sept. 23, 2020. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A Virginia Senate committee has killed a proposal backed the Republican governor that sought to repeal the state’s adoption of California’s vehicle emission standards which promoted zero-emission vehicles over fossil fuel ones.

In 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) introduced a rule requiring a ban on the sale of fossil fuel vehicles starting in 2035, encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles. Since Virginia passed a “Clean Cars” law in 2021 that linked the state with California’s emissions standards, the state’s office of the attorney general indicated that Virginia would also have to follow standards set by California.

House Bill 1378, backed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, sought to prohibit Virginia’s State Air Pollution Control Board from adopting or enforcing vehicle emission standards that align with CARB rules. On Tuesday, the Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources Committee voted 8–7 along party lines to kill the proposal, with Democrats voting against it.

Youngkin has said he opposes allowing another state to set emission policies in Virginia.

“In an effort to turn Virginia into California, liberal politicians who previously ran our government sold Virginia out by subjecting Virginia drivers to California vehicle laws,” he said in a statement posted to Twitter on Aug. 26. “Now, under that pact, Virginians will be forced to adopt the California law that prohibits the sale of gas and diesel-fueled vehicles. … California’s out-of-touch laws have no place in our Commonwealth.”

Cracking Down on Fossil Fuel Vehicles

The Clean Cars standard adopted by Virginia requires auto manufacturers to provide cleaner gas-powered vehicles beginning with model year 2025 and to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles for sale in the state.

Democrats in the state Senate defeated several other bills that sought to undo the clean car standards, and it was the Democrat-controlled Legislature that passed the Clean Cars standards in 2021.

Republicans have warned that the targets set as part of the Clean Cars law are unachievable. Some have raised concerns over the high cost involved in buying and repairing electric vehicles.

At the Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, Republican Del. Tony Wilt questioned whether the state’s electric grid is capable of dealing with a rise in demand from electric vehicles.

While pointing out that Virginia is on the path to decommissioning carbon dioxide-emitting energy sources by 2050, Wilt raised concerns about scaling down the state’s electricity generation sources while pushing up demand.

Some experts have warned that mandating the sale of zero-emission vehicles could drive up the cost of electricity and negatively affect the vulnerable population in the state.

EV Challenge

Several states across the United States are pushing ahead with promoting zero-emission vehicles, mainly electric, while phasing out fossil fuel powered vehicles. In August, California mandated the ban of new internal combustion engine vehicles in the state by 2035.

In addition to Virginia, other states that have partially or fully adopted the emission standards set by California are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Commentator John Seiler has warned that California’s push for electric vehicle (EV) adoption will create inequalities.

“What the new CARB ruling will do is effectively make California a two-tier society. The top tier will be those who can afford the new electric vehicles,” he said.

“The bottom tier of car owners will be those who can’t afford new EVs, or even EVs a couple of years old. They will be forced to buy much older EVs at high prices, with mechanical problems that will strain family budgets even more.”

An August poll by Rasmussen Reports found that only 28 percent of American adults viewed EVs as practical for drivers, with 54 percent calling the vehicles impractical. Another survey in May found that Americans were less likely than people from other nations to buy EVs.