Virginia Withdraws from ‘California Electric Vehicle Mandate

Consumers and car dealers in Virginia are breathing a sigh of relief after Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that the state would no longer be following California’s lead in mandating the adoption of electric vehicles that very few people want.

In 2021, then-Gov. Ralph signed into law a bill that tied Virginia’s Air Board to California’s “Advanced Clean Cars I” regulation. But that regulation ends this year, supplanted by “Advanced Clean Cars II.”

The new rule goes into effect on Jan. 1, and will require that 35 percent of model year 2026 cars in California be electric — and that percentage would rise annually, hitting 100 percent in 2035.

And car dealers that knowingly violate the mandate would be subject to fines of $20,000 or more per vehicle.

However, because of the wording of the Virginia law, the state is not required to adopt the new standards that California’s government has decided to burden its residents with, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said in an official opinion.

Basically, the Virginia law states that the Air Board “may” adopt the new, stricter standards, and the word “may” implies that the Air Board also “may not” choose to do so.

“Once again, Virginia is declaring independence — this time from a misguided electric vehicle mandate imposed by unelected leaders nearly 3,000 miles away from the Commonwealth,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement from his office.

“The idea that government should tell people what kind of car they can or can’t purchase is fundamentally wrong,” he added. “Virginians deserve the freedom to choose which vehicles best fit the needs of their families and businesses. The law is clear, and I am proud to announce Virginians will no longer be forced to live under this out-of-touch policy.”

Miyares agreed.

“Today, I’ve issued an official Attorney General Opinion that confirms that Virginians are no longer legally bound to follow the emission standards of California,” he said in the same statement. “EV mandates like California’s are unworkable and out of touch with reality, and thankfully the law does not bind us to their regulations.

“California does not control which cars Virginians buy and any thoughts that automobile manufacturers should face millions of dollars in civil penalties rather than allowing our citizens to choose their own vehicles is completely absurd,” he added.

Meanwhile, a poll published Tuesday by The Associated Press showed that the two men’s thinking about electric vehicles was in line with a plurality of Americans.

“About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they would be at least somewhat likely to buy an EV the next time they buy a car, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, while 46% say they are not too likely or not at all likely to purchase one,” the AP reported.

Worse, only 32 percent of adults over 45 — you know, the ones with the money — say they’re “somewhat” likely to buy an EV next time they’re in the market for a car.

And those numbers are likely exaggerated, as many respondents either said they’d consider an EV because the left has been screaming at them about how that’s the only responsible thing to do, or said they’d “consider” it the same way I would — for about eight seconds, before I move along to the gas-powered cars. At least until issues like battery life, charging infrastructure and cost are dealt with.

The outlet noted that President Joe Biden’s push to force Americans to adopt electric vehicles despite their reluctance to do so may cause him problems in an election year.

His presumptive opponent, former President Donald Trump, has already been turning into an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign, the AP reported.