Virginia to Abandon California’s ‘Misguided’ Electric-Vehicle Mandate by End of Year, Youngkin Says

Virginia will abandon its effort to mimic California’s electric-vehicle regulations by the end of the year, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday, in a surprise move that goes around the commonwealth’s legislature.

Virginia was on track to comply with new emissions standards adopted by the California Air Resources Board set to take effect January 1, 2025, replacing California’s current regulations. CARB’s new standards, coined Advanced Clean Cars II, required that 35 percent of cars starting with model year 2026 be sold as electric vehicles. The regulations also mandated a 100 percent electric-vehicle transition by 2035 for all new vehicles purchased.

The mandate was to fall under a 2021 Democratic law tying Virginia’s electric-vehicle policies to California’s. Youngkin urged state lawmakers to repeal the law, but Democrats opposed Republican efforts to do so, prompting the Republican governor to slash it altogether.

In a statement, Youngkin said the state is “declaring independence” from “a misguided electric vehicle mandate imposed by unelected leaders nearly 3,000 miles away from the Commonwealth.”

“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.”

Youngkin’s decision was informed by Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares’s opinion on the matter. It confirmed that the state is not legally bound to follow California’s emissions standards.

“EV mandates like California’s are unworkable and out of touch with reality, and thankfully the law does not bind us to their regulations,” Miyares said. “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.”

The Republican attorney general’s opinion was corroborated by a memo from Natural and Historic Resources secretary Travis Voyles to the Department of Environmental Quality, the State Air Pollution Control Board, and stakeholders. The memo said Virginia will default to federal standards required under the Clean Air Act by the end of 2024 after the State Air Pollution Control Board hadn’t acted under its discretionary authority to adopt the new regulations.

The partisan move was met with criticism from state Democrats, who claim that the governor is overstepping his authority by dropping the law.

“There’s a law that’s on the books. The law says that we shall join the California Air standard,” said Senate majority leader Scott Surovell. “He just simply doesn’t have the legal authority to say that we can get out whenever we feel like. This is not how democracy works.”

In a separate comment, Surovell likened Youngkin to Vladimir Putin for exerting too much power. “The governor is breaking the law and the AG is giving him cover,” he said via text message.

Environmental groups also opposed the decision, which the Southern Environmental Law Center called “illegal, shortsighted, and bad public policy.”

“The Clean Cars standards will help spur the transition to cleaner vehicles and bring significant health and environmental benefits to all Virginians. That is why the General Assembly adopted them,” SELC attorney Trip Pollard said. “The Governor tried to get the legislature to repeal the law and failed; he cannot just dictate a different outcome.”

In 2021, when Democrats controlled the governor’s office and state legislature, Virginia enacted climate-friendly legislation. One of the bills was the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which aims to fully transition the commonwealth’s electric grid to green energy by 2050, while the bill that Youngkin targeted in his announcement coupled Virginia’s emissions standards with California’s policies.