Efforts to move Connecticut toward a complete phase-out of gas-powered vehicles hit another road bump on Thursday when House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) announced that there would be no special session next week to consider the proposal. Instead, the electric vehicle (EV) legislation will be tabled for the General Assembly’s regular session that starts on February 7th.
This is the latest development in the ongoing debate over whether the state can or should require the adoption of electric vehicles, rather than allow the move toward EV’s to happen naturally – or not at all. Governor Lamont and legislative leaders announced back in November that they would return to the drawing board following pushback and would no longer tie Connecticut’s law to the state of California’s much more strict guidelines.
The previous form of the mandate would have made it illegal in Connecticut to purchase a new gas-powered vehicle in 2035. The sale of used gas-powered cars would still be allowed, however, and no one currently driving a gas-powered car would be forced to turn it in and buy a new electric vehicle.
But those potential mandates still caused plenty of pushback from farmers, truckers, and members of the general public. Among the arguments against – beyond those regarding free markets and consumer choice – centered around costs, reliability, mileage, and charging infrastructure.
And Ritter has agreed that these concerns will need to be addressed in any final legislation. Speaking during that November press conference with the governor, the speaker said costs and infrastructure are real concerns that will need to be addressed by him and his colleagues in the General Assembly.
“We have things we need to do in turn that will be part of a larger bill,” Ritter said at the time. “We have to do more. We have to demonstrate to the Connecticut residents that this switch will not only save the environment – save lives and save our planet – but not leave you in a position where you can no longer afford a vehicle.”
Part of that compromise may require that the government backs off requirements for medium and heavy-duty vehicles, like tractor-trailers and farm equipment. Those industries have pushed back hard against a fast switchover to electric would be either cost-prohibitive for smaller businesses (like family or small farms) and would be a logistical nightmare.
Truckers in particular have pointed out that batteries sufficient to power a truck over long distances would be so heavy, they would make it difficult to cross bridges. Then there is the likelihood that any cost increases from the switch would be passed on to the consumer.
Meanwhile, members of the state’s fuel distributors say that the switch would result in higher fuel costs for consumers. They have urged a move away from California’s standards and an adoption of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) much more lenient standards.
Republican leaders are calling this week’s delay a victory for Connecticut families who they say are not having their voices heard and are slamming Democrats for being “more than willing to favor affluent families over poor, working and middle class families who cannot afford a single-family home. They were more than willing to circumvent the legislative process and silence the voices of the people by doing away with public hearings.”
There will be much more debate on this topic in the months ahead, as the General Assembly works to develop final legislation, but for now, the issue has been kicked down the line.
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