Virginia AG says state bound by CA rule phasing out new gas-powered cars

Source: The Hill | August 29, 2022 | Zack Budryk

Virginia AG says state bound by California rule phasing out new gas-powered cars

California’s newly-announced rule barring the sale of new gas-powered cars in 2035 will apply to Virginia as well under the terms of a 2021 state law, Attorney General Jason Miyares’s (R) office confirmed to The Hill on Monday. 

In 2021, the state General Assembly, where Democrats then held majorities in both chambers, passed a law requiring the state to adopt the same automobile standards as those adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Although Democrats lost their majority in the state House of Delegates in 2021, efforts to repeal the legislation in this year’s legislative session were unsuccessful. 

California’s new rule, passed last week, will also apply to Virginia, Miyares spokesperson Victoria LaCivita confirmed to The Hill. The news was first reported by The Virginia Mercury. 

“The Attorney General is hopeful that the General Assembly repeals this law and discontinues any trend that makes Virginia more like California,” LaCivita told The Hill in an email. “Unelected California bureaucrats should not be dictating the will of Virginians.” 

Virginia is one of 15 states that have adopted an earlier CARB standard that imposes stricter tailpipe emissions standards than the federal rule.

The rule on new gas-powered vehicles does not apply to used cars or restrict the use of existing gas-powered cars. Under the terms of the 2021 law, the California rule would not take effect until 2024, giving Republicans in the legislature at least one more chance to attempt repeal, particularly if they take the state Senate in 2023. 

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has vowed to prevent the rule from taking effect in Virginia, saying in a statement Friday, “I am already at work to prevent this ridiculous edict from being forced on Virginians.” Although Democrats retain a single-vote edge in the state Senate, Sen. Joe Morrissey (D) has been known to buck his colleagues on votes.

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