Just months after a push to mandate electric vehicles in his state, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont pulled the plug on the effort.
After touting the plan in July as “decisive action to meet our climate pollution reduction targets,” the Democrat reversed course, having been pressured by state lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle to abandon the mandate that was tied to emission standards set in California. The move comes as a blow to the agenda of climate activists and environmentalists, especially those in Lamont’s own party who have been on an EV mandate spree.
Republican members of the bicameral Legislative Regulation Review Committee of Connecticut’s General Assembly had been pushing back for months against Lamont’s effort to mandate the purchase of EVs by 2035. Connecticut Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly and the others in the 14-member panel have the responsibility of deciding on proposed regulations.
“The GOP minority leader and other Republicans on the panel led opposition to the proposed EV mandate over the last several months. After Democrats on the committee voiced concerns with the regulations, Lamont ultimately pulled the proposal from the agenda of a committee hearing Tuesday, when lawmakers were set to vote on it,” Fox News reported.
Kelly and others praised the move.
“Common sense has prevailed,” the Republican leader said in a statement. “The Governor’s decision to withdraw the regulations is a reasoned approach to address the growing concerns raised by working and middle-class families. Adopting California emission standards which ban the sale of gas-powered cars is a substantial policy shift which must be decided by the General Assembly.”
“There are too many questions regarding the capacity of our electric grid, the cost and location of grid improvements, and the negative impact on urban, rural and working poor families,” Kelly continued. “More than 90% of our pollution comes from outside the control of Connecticut. We need a national – and international – approach to improve our air quality. A state-by-state strategy will only prolong the attainment of cleaner air.”
Connecticut state Sen. John Kissel called Lamont’s decision a “prudent step.”
“The people’s elected representatives are the ones who should be making this decision. Something so life-changing – something that will take our choice away – needs to be decided by the full state legislature,” Kissel, the GOP chair of the panel, added.
“Ask anyone on a Main Street anywhere in Connecticut those questions,” he said. “They will tell you that they – the people – should get to decide. It should be the people’s choice. The people of Connecticut deserve credit for speaking out. I thank my colleagues on the committee – and the governor – for withdrawing these regulations.”
Today, CT Republicans pumped the brakes on the Lamont Administration’s proposed EV mandate and put working and middle-class families first! Thank you to all who spoke up in favor of a common-sense plan and approach for implementing cleaner air and transportation solutions. pic.twitter.com/xy2LCHhn1o
— CT Senate Republicans (@CTSenateGOP) November 28, 2023
Not everyone was celebrating, however, as one climate and energy attorney noted.
“The Committee’s failure to advance these regulations aligns Connecticut’s environmental policy with that of Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia rather than Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and the dozen other states we’ve been proud to call our clean air partners,” Charles Rothenberger, with Connecticut-based Save the Sound, told Fox News Digital.
“Unfortunately, we will now lose one more critical year in which the environmental, health and economic benefits of this program are not enjoyed by Connecticut’s residents,” he added. “And there will be less consumer access to cutting-edge, low-cost clean vehicles as these vehicles are shipped elsewhere.”
State Sen. Paul Cicarella, who is also a member of the deciding panel, believes Democrats recognized “there was no plan to implement” Lamont’s EV mandate.
Environmental groups had a meltdown.
“It is outrageous that members of the regulations review committee overstepped their bounds to roll back environmental progress and block important clean air regulations,” Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, said. “If our state fails to move forward, it will be due to partisan politics and not what is best for the people of Connecticut.”
But many others see the death of the mandate as an ultimate win for Connecticut consumers.
“This is a victory for consumers who would have paid a big price tag for the state’s efforts to ban gas-powered cars and trucks in the future,” Chris Herb, the president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association said, adding that it was “too much too fast, and we are not ready for an EV-only future.”
The president of the Connecticut think tank Yankee Institute, Carol Platt Liebau, called it a “victory for Connecticut’s people” in a statement to Fox News Digital, noting how there has “been no showing these burdensome, expensive regulations would actually improve the environment.”
“People overwhelmingly opposed the regulations because they would have placed significant costs on our state’s consumers and businesses and strained our energy infrastructure, without providing the global environmental benefits proponents claim,” Liebau added. “Innovation, developing technology and individual choice in the marketplace should guide car and truck sales in Connecticut – not government mandates.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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