Bill of the Day: Keeping Clean Cars in Virginia
Updated on February 13th, 2024.
Electric vehicle charging. Image credit: Daniel White, The Nature Conservancy
What are the Clean Car Standards?
The transportation sector is Virginia’s largest source of carbon pollution. However, federal law prohibits Virginia from writing its own regulations on tailpipe emissions. Under the Clean Air Act, Virginia can use federal standards or can choose to adopt the more protective Clean Car Standards, which is currently being used by 17 other states.
In 2021, the General Assembly took an important step toward reducing vehicle pollution by adopting the Clean Cars Standards (HB1965; Bagby). The Clean Cars standards ramp up tailpipe pollution protections over more than a decade and will bring both cleaner gas-powered vehicles and a greater variety of electric vehicles to the Commonwealth beginning this January.
Reasons to Protect Clean Car Standards
Clean Car Standards offer more consumer choice at dealerships by ramping up requirements for manufacturers to sell cleaner gas-powered vehicles and electric vehicles at local dealerships over the next ten years. Without the Clean Car Standards, manufacturers will prioritize sending their new vehicle models to the other 17 states that have adopted Clean Car Standards, forcing Virginians to travel out of state to make cleaner vehicle purchases.
Clean Car Standards also reduce pollution from gas-powered cars and trucks. Transportation produces more than 40% of Virginia’s air pollution, which causes significant health problems to all Virginians statewide. Clean Car Standards are one of the best tools available to reduce toxic air pollutants, expand consumer choice, and drive economic development at local dealerships.
Attacks on Virginia’s Clean Car Standards
A series of bills are attempting to repeal the Clean Cars Standards, and some would completely eliminate the State Air Pollution Control Board’s authority to adopt any tailpipe emission standards. Repeal proponents claim Virginia should set its own emissions standards, but Virginia has no legal authority to do so. As a result, these bills would significantly hamper Virginia’s ability to control transportation pollution.
VCN and our Network Partners oppose a series of bills that would repeal or undermine the Clean Car Standards:
(Delegate Tony Wilt) Prohibits the State Air Pollution Control Board from adopting or enforcing any car model year standards in order to reduce toxic air pollution, including standards for low-emission vehicle and zero-emission vehicle standards. Subcommittee laid on table.
(Delegate Buddy Fowler) Repeals the State Air Pollution Control Board’s authority to implement low-emissions and zero-emissions vehicle standards that apply for vehicles with a model year of 2025 and later. Left in House Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee.
(Delegate Lee Ware) Delays the date that dealerships must adopt Clean Car Standards. Left in House Labor and Commerce.
(Senator William DeSteph, Senator Richard Stuart) Repeals the State Air Pollution Control Board’s authority to implement low-emissions and zero-emissions vehicle standards that apply for vehicles with a model year of 2025 and later. Passed By Indefinitely in Senate Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources Committee.
(Senator William DeSteph, Senator Ryan McDougle) Prohibits the State Air Pollution Control Board from adopting or enforcing any car model year standards in order to reduce toxic air pollution, including standards for low-emission vehicle and zero-emission vehicle standards. Incorporated into SB3.
(Senator John McGuire) Repeals the State Air Pollution Control Board’s authority to implement low-emissions and zero-emissions vehicle standards that apply for vehicles with a model year of 2025 and later. Incorporated into SB3.
Take Action
On February 13th, the last of the Clean Car Standards repeal bills was defeated before crossover! Make sure to thank your Senators and Delegates on the ACNR Committees who helped defeat these repeal bills.
Thank you to our many partners who are actively defending Clean Car Standards, including Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Virginia League of Conservation Voters.
See the latest on vehicle electrification efforts on our Electrification issue page.