Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced on Wednesday that the state will be abandoning California’s strict vehicle emissions rules at the end of the year. This decision comes after an opinion from Attorney General Jason Miyares stated that Virginia is not required to comply with new mandates adopted by the California Air Resources Board. Youngkin, a Republican, emphasized the importance of Virginians being able to choose the vehicles that suit their needs, rather than being dictated by the government.
Despite Youngkin’s announcement, the move has been met with criticism from Democrats and environmental groups. Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell compared Youngkin’s actions to those of Vladimir Putin and accused him of breaking the law. The Southern Environmental Law Center called the decision illegal, shortsighted, and bad public policy, arguing that the Clean Cars standards would bring health and environmental benefits to all Virginians.
In response to the backlash, Attorney General Miyares defended the opinion from his office, stating that Virginians are no longer required to follow California’s standards. He argued that California’s electric vehicle mandates are unworkable and out of touch with reality. Virginia will default to federal standards at the end of the year, as confirmed by Miyares’ opinion, which states that the State Air Pollution Control Board is not obligated to adopt California’s new standards under state law.
Virginia’s “clean cars” law, which was adopted in 2021 during a period of Democratic control, required a certain percentage of new passenger vehicles sold by manufacturers to be electric or hybrid electric starting in 2024. Efforts to repeal the law by Virginia Senate Democrats last year were unsuccessful. The mechanism for reaching the mandated vehicle sales threshold involved adopting California’s vehicle emissions standards, which have been in place for decades under a waiver from the federal Clean Air Act.
Overall, Governor Youngkin’s decision to abandon California’s stringent vehicle emissions rules has sparked a debate between Republicans, who believe in giving Virginians the freedom to choose their own vehicles, and Democrats and environmental groups, who argue that the Clean Cars standards would bring important health and environmental benefits to the state. The future of vehicle emissions regulations in Virginia remains uncertain as the state prepares to default to federal standards at the end of the year.
