(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Virginia will be forced to comply with California’s leftist regulations that lead to a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.
The California Air Resources Board has demanded that 35% of new vehicles must produce zero emissions by 2026, before rising to a 68% benchmark by 2030 and a 100% level by 2035.
It was confirmed that Virginia will also be required to follow the guidelines under the terms of a state law passed in 2021, The Daily Wire reported.
“The Attorney General is hopeful that the General Assembly repeals this law and discontinues any trend that makes Virginia more like California,” said spokeswoman for the Attorney General, Victoria LaCivita. “Unelected California bureaucrats should not be dictating the will of Virginians.”
Despite Republicans taking hold of the state’s House of Delegates and the election of Governor Glenn Youngkin, the Democrat party remains in control of the Virginia Senate by a single vote. State Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Vir., has been known to vote outside party lines occasionally.
Youngkin, who opposes the legislation, has stated that he would like to see the law repealed. If Republicans gain control of the Senate in the midterm elections, this will likely be the case.
“In an effort to turn Virginia into California, liberal politicians who previously ran our government sold Virginia out by subjecting Virginia drivers to California vehicle laws,” Youngkin wrote.
“Now, under that pact, Virginians will be forced to adopt the California law that prohibits the sale of gas and diesel-fueled vehicles.
“I am already at work to prevent this ridiculous edict from being forced on Virginians. California’s out of touch laws have no place in our Commonwealth.”
Washington State and Massachusetts have used the California Air Resources Board as a model for their climate laws.
“This is a critical milestone in our climate fight,” said Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.
Nationally, Democrat lawmakers have been itching to enact similar legislation, greenlighting tax credits for electric vehicle owners and accelerating the adoption of renewable energy.
