Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced, and Attorney General Jason Miyares confirmed in an official opinion, that the commonwealth will no longer be legally bound to follow California’s electric vehicle mandate at the end of this year. Announcing the expiration of a regime where unelected bureaucrats in California dictate Virginia’s policy has inexplicably met some pushback — all of which is unfounded.
In 2021, Virginia Democrats, then in control of the governorship and General Assembly, passed a law authorizing Virginia to adopt California’s costly and burdensome vehicle emission standards. These standards are set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a group of unelected bureaucrats. Dubbed the “Advanced Clean Cars” (ACC) program, a newly enacted, more expansive version of is unrealistically ambitious — forcing 35% of new cars sold in model year 2026 to be electric, increasing to 100% in 2035. By 2035, these regulations would include a complete ban on any sale of new gas-powered vehicles in just over a decade.
The simple fact is that no jurisdiction, even California, is ready for a forced transition to electric vehicles, and Virginia absolutely should not tie itself to California’s own misguided and unworkable policy. Democrats in California and Virginia would rather force you to rely on hope to keep your battery charged, choosing to ignore the reality of charging stations, especially in rural areas, and the slow pace of growth despite the misleading rhetoric from the Biden administration. This lack of infrastructure is in addition to a myriad of other reliability and availability concerns associated with the current supply chain and support system. These concerns include a currently inadequate and insecure supply of raw materials, the environmental issues with the extraction of those materials and disposal of products, affordable options for all potential users, and growing delays for services and repairs, to name a few.
California is proving even they are unprepared for a full transition to electric vehicles — facing increased energy supply and reliability issues where “solutions” are only additional burdens on consumers. In August 2022, the California Independent Systems Operator, who oversees the state’s grid, issued a multi-day “Flex Alert” imploring Californians not to charge their electric vehicles (and to set their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher). This was just six days after CARB, following the ill-advised vision of Gov. Gavin Newsom, adopted an expanded and more restrictive mandate for the second iteration of the ACC program. These decisions were made with the backdrop of less than five percent of California’s fleet on the road at the time being electric. Imagine the havoc that will come with a 35% or 100% electric fleet as states like California continue to reject the reality of their energy needs. More recently, California has already had two “transmission emergencies” this year — before reaching the real heat of summer. These results are the real-world consequences for shortsighted, politically convenient policy.
Purchasing an electric vehicle should be a decision made by individuals and families based on their budgets and transportation needs and preferences, not a top-down requirement made by politicians and bureaucrats that cannot speak to the experience of driving up the Eastern Shore, or crossing a mountain in Southwest, or even being stranded in traffic on Interstate 95 during a snowstorm.
Fortunately, after this year, Virginia will no longer be bound to the decrees of California. Instead, Virginia’s participation will end when the first iteration of this costly program expires at the end of 2024. And we are much better off for it — Governor Newsom’s fiats and CARB’s edicts have no place in Virginia.
In short, not outsourcing Virginia’s lawmaking to California bureaucrats and crippling Virginians’ freedom in the process is, actually, a good thing.
Travis Voyles is Virginia Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources.