Delegate Dana Stein wants to pump the brakes on a state law that would require that more than 40 percent of all cars sold in the state be electric by the 2027 model year. That law was supposed to take effect with the 2027 models, which will start rolling out next year, but a bill introduced this week by Stein would pause penalties on the law until the 2029 model year. “There’s no bigger champion of the state taking action to deal with climate issues than me,” Stein, the House Speaker Pro Tem, said yesterday. “But I came to realize that these EV requirements were not going to get more EVs on the road in the short term.”
Proposed changes: Stein’s House Bill 1556 would tweak the state’s implementation of the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) and Advanced Clean Trucks programs, which are modeled after California policies. Under Stein’s bill, penalties would be lifted until the 2029 model year. The sales percentages would be unchanged from the current law. The bill received a major boost Thursday when it was unanimously passed by the House Rules Committee and sent to the House Environment and Transportation Committee for a hearing on Wednesday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m.
