Resolution seeking study of 2035 electric vehicle mandate falls short

A House Resolution asking the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to delay regulations to ban the sale of the bulk of gas-powered vehicles in 2035 fell a few votes short of passage.

Sponsored by State House Minority Leader Mike Ramone, R-Pike Creek south and co-sponsored by the remaining 14 members of the House Republican Caucus, House Resolution 17 asks DNREC to determine the impact of California’s Advanced Clear Car II regulations on Delawareans.

An earlier bill barring DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin from making the final call on the California standards went nowhere in a Senate and House with a solid majority of Democrats.

The proposed rules would require that starting in late 2026, 43% of all new light vehicles sold in Delaware must be zero-emission vehicles (EVs). By late 2034, the regulations would require all new vehicle sales to be EVs, prohibiting the sale or registration of new fuel-powered light vehicles, with the exception of plug in hybrids with small gas engines.

The resolution further requested that the agency evaluate the approach taken by Pennsylvania and Colorado. The two states are among the 17 that have chosen to follow California’s vehicle emissions regulations. However, neither state is pursuing the 2035 mandate.

The resolution requested that DNREC evaluate the protocol observed by 33 other states that follow the EPA’s vehicle emission regulations instead of California’s protocols that have been in effect for decades.

The state Republican Party and Republican legislators have been on a crusade to overturn the battery-electric mandate, holding town halls up and down the state that mainly drew people opposed to the California mandate. They have failed to note that under the 2035 plan, one-fifth of vehicles sold would be plug-in hybrids.

Earlier this week, House and Senate Republicans re-analyzed the public comments DNREC received during a public hearing and reported that 94.49% of these responding opposed the California standards after substracting duplicate submissions.

Their arguments have included DNREC officials not offering a plan for how Delaware families and individuals living in apartments and urban neighborhoods recharge their EVs and no study on the effect on EVs on Delaware’s power grid. One car dealer claimed the mandate would limit his ability to obtain some Jeep vehicles.

Supporters of EVs have noted that technology tested at the University of Delaware would allow EVs to store electricity and send it back into the grid while the vehicle is parked at a home or business. Backers also note that the bulk of capital investments by vehicle manufacturers are focused on EVS, with the phased-in 2035 standards offering enough to make the transition.

All 15 House Republicans supported the resolution, joined by two House Democrats. One Democrat was absent and another did not vote. The measure fell four votes short of a majority.

GOP senators and representatives have emphasized that they are not opposed to electric vehicles, only the mandate.

Had the resolution passed, it would not have been binding on DNREC. A GOP release stated that state agencies typically observe such statements of legislative intent. Twenty-three House Democrats opposed the passage of the measure.

While not outspoken in is comments, Gov. John Carney has appeared to support the mandate.

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