by Christine Stuart and Hugh McQuaid
On the eve of a vote by the evenly-divided Regulation Review Committee, Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to withdraw proposed regulations that would have phased out new gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035.
The withdrawal of the regulation puts to rest weeks of speculation on how the bipartisan regulation review panel would vote on pending emissions regulations that would require auto manufacturers to sell an increasing share of zero-emission vehicles until 2035, when new gas-powered vehicle sales would have been discontinued entirely.
In an interview, Rep. Lucy Dathan, a New Canaan Democrat who co-chairs the panel, said she received word Monday that there was enough opposition on the committee to reject the regulation. Rather see the proposal voted down, the administration signaled plans to withdraw it, giving the legislature a second crack at finding a way to craft the transition to electric vehicles.
“I’m disappointed, to be completely honest,” Dathan said, citing many of Connecticut’s neighboring states which have adopted the regulation. “I was a big supporter of this and I was feeling optimistic we could get it over the finish line… I see the market is going in this direction so it’s upsetting we couldn’t get there.”
Ritter said that even if they had been defeated the regulations would not be able to be altered, so this gives the Democrat-controlled legislature some more flexibility to draft a new proposal.
“When our caucus has the info it needs we’re willing to act as quickly as possible,” Ritter said.
He said the new proposal might give the state more time to determine what the electric vehicle marketplace will look like in five years.
He said they will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the state Capitol to outline some of what they are thinking about moving forward and then give advocates more time to work on the issue. A vote on a new proposal could come during the next legislative session which starts in February 2024.
Republican lawmakers started holding public hearings around the state in recent weeks to try and defeat the proposal.
However, it was two Democrats on the committee, Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and Sen. Joan Hartley, D-Waterbury, who remained openly skeptical of the proposal. Neither Osten nor Hartley immediately returned calls for comment.
The proposal was opposed by fuel sellers and the trucking industry. In a Monday evening statement, Chris Herb, president and CEO of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, called the move a victory for consumers.
“However, the battle may not be over. It’s unclear what could happen next, but CEMA will continue to be vigilant in our opposition to this reckless policy,” Herb said. “This is too much too fast, and we are not ready for an EV-only future.”
Environmental advocates had sought to boost support for the proposal through legislator outreach citing its expected benefits to the state’s air quality as well as a reduction in the number of health complications caused by pollution.
The regulations stemmed from a bipartisan 2004 law linking Connecticut’s vehicle emissions standards to those adopted by the state of California rather than less stringent standards authored by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Republican legislative leaders have maintained that the transition away from gas-powered vehicles was not what lawmakers envisioned when they linked the standards. They have argued that Connecticut’s infrastructure was not equipped to handle such an increase in electric vehicles.
In a statement Monday, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora said he hoped the administration and legislative Democrats would draft a more realistic proposal following the decision to withdraw the regs.
“The Governor’s decision to pull proposed regulations banning the sales of new gas-powered vehicles is a prudent move considering the growing revolt from a diverse chorus of stakeholders with concerns ranging from electric grid capacity and reliability to the availability of charging stations and simple freedom of choice,” Candelora said.
For her part, Dathan said she hoped the proposal would be approved if it is considered by the wider legislature.
“The whole world is moving towards doing this. The industry is moving towards it,” she said. “This is something that we really have to attend to for addressing the effects of climate change but also for public health.”