Update: California 2035 Ban on Gas Autos

The California Legislature passed a bill a couple of years ago to ban the sale of gasoline autos in the state by 2035. Last week the U.S. House of Representatives voted 246 to 164 to repeal the federal waiver that will allow California to do the ban.

Washington State and several other states followed California’s lead.

It’s no surprise that the ban was loudly opposed by the auto industry, the auto fuel industry and by President Donald Trump and many Republicans. The bill passed by the House rolls back the waiver issued by former President Joe Biden that let California enact far stricter emission standards than the U.S. government requires. The rollback was to help sell more electric vehicles and autos designated as zero-emission vehicles.

By the way, 35 Democrats joined Republicans in voting yes on the bill.

The bill has been sent to the Senate and it has until mid-May to vote on those waivers. The Senate’s parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough is the rule-keeper in the senate. She said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers Biden used to give California permission to enact more strict standards cannot be repealed by Congress so it’s doubtful the Senate will get to vote on the House bill.

As expected, California Governor Gavin Newsom took exception to the passage of the bill.

“Big polluters and the right-wing propaganda machine have succeeded in buying off the Republican Party – and now the House is using a tactic that the Senate’s own parliamentarian has said is lawless,” Newsom said. “Our vehicles program helps clean the air for all Californians, and we’ll continue defending it.”

Source link: Insurance Journal — https://bit.ly/43gK4Aa