The Transportation Committee is holding a public hearing on Wednesday (March 13) on a bill that creates an Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Coordinating Council charged with submitting a draft “Zero-Emission Vehicle Roadmap.” The bill requires the submission of a draft report — written by various agencies by November 15, 2024 — notably 10 days following Election Day.
In short: this sets the stage for reviving the gas car ban.
The roadmap has 15 areas of focus, including evaluating the advantages and costs associated with zero-emission vehicles and their current registration numbers in the state; projecting the number of such vehicles that must be sold to meet emissions reduction benchmarks; recommendations for the installation of EV charging stations, their associated infrastructure and maintenance practices; and analyzing pricing trends for purchasing new zero-emission vehicles.
The legislation also allows for state bonding to improve municipalities’ EV charging infrastructure, access to EV rebates for low-income individuals and studying transportation alternatives in rural areas.
However, the roadmap fails to provide estimated costs for several critical expenses, such as building adequate charging stations and upgrading the electrical grid. It also doesn’t address how to replace lost gas tax revenue. Given the tight six-month timeframe to finalize the roadmap, there’s an underlying implication that the work has already been completed. This suggests that the roadmap might serve more as a diversion, allowing legislators to sidestep accountability to constituents on Election Day.
Earlier today (March 12), House and Senate Republicans held a joint press conference to voice their opposition to the proposed bill. Senator Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) labeled the legislation an “EV mandate.”
Sen. Harding questioned the use of the term “roadmap” asking, “What roadmap in the world has ever been created in which you don’t know what the destination is?” He further highlighted his concern that the outcome of the study seems predetermined, and expressed frustration with the makeup of the committee, citing the imbalance in committee appointments.
According to Sen. Harding, the Republican caucuses in the House and Senate “are limited to who [they] can appoint and yet the Democratic majority can appoint whomever they wish to this working group.”
Additionally, Sen. Harding criticized the working group’s disregard for the costs associated with implementing a ban on gas vehicles, a concern he says his caucus has been raising for the past year.
House Minority Leader Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) echoing Sen. Harding’s concern, noted that out of the 40 individuals appointed to the board, “27 are identified as electric vehicle supporters.”
Rep. Candelora expressed moderate satisfaction that representatives from Eversource and United Illuminating were included on the committee. However, he also shared concerns about discussions he has heard suggesting a desire to remove these two individuals from the board.
Additionally, Rep. Candelora mentioned that his caucus had suggested holding a public hearing to discuss the possibility of returning to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s vehicle emission standards, rather than adhering to the California Standards adopted in 1994. He pointed out that the Democratic party was opposed to even holding a public hearing on the matter.
Proponents of the bill, the CT Roundtable on Climate & Jobs, said in a March 12 email that the legislation only makes “it easier to consumers who want electric vehicles to access them” and that “there’s been a lot of disinformation telling Connecticut residents that the state wants to ban gas-powered cars.”
Yet the bill’s simplicity, as portrayed by the Roundtable, is misleading. In fact, it’s not so innocent when coupled with the “Green Monster” bill.
Katie Dykes, Commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is advocating for extra measures to be added to the proposed “Green Monster” legislation.
According to her written testimony, in order for the state to meet its legally required greenhouse gas reduction benchmarks, Dykes wrote “the legislature must provide for more funding, regulatory authority and other programmatic support.” If her request is approved, it would grant her the ultimate authority to approve any regulatory recommendations stemming from the roadmap.
The public hearing is scheduled to commence at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. As of the time of this article’s publication, there are 338 individuals opposed to the bill and 21 in support, indicating that 94% of the responses are against the proposed legislation.
*post has been updated.
