Republican lawmakers pumping the brakes on CT electric vehicle regulations
August 17, 2023
NBC Connecticut
House and Senate Republicans joined together Wednesday in opposition of the announcement at the end of July that Connecticut would be joining onto California’s clean car standards.
The regulations require a phase out of gas powered vehicles sold in state. By 2035, all new vehicles sold in state are required to be electric.
“What they see as an alternative, an electric vehicle, is something that is unaffordable to most working and middle class families,” Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, of Stratford, said.
His concerns included the cost of current new electric vehicles, the lack of charging infrastructure in Connecticut, the lack of plan to build out charging infrastructure and the impacts a policy of this magnitude could have without first debating it in the legislature.
“I don’t think this is the type of policy that we put in place and hope like in the field of dreams, if we build it they will come,” Kelly said.
Back in 2004, Connecticut lawmakers decided to attach our state emissions goals to the state to the California regulations.
That decision had full support from republicans except for one.
But Kelly said at the time, the goals were different.
“Now what we are looking at are EV’s which weren’t really in existence back then to the extent that they are today,” Kelly said. “And so while this deals with the same subject matter, it goes beyond what was contemplated in the initial statute.”
He thinks the policy should be rehashed in the legislature before Connecticut residents are stuck with it.