Youngkin says Virginia won’t follow California’s clean cart standards anymore

Critics say GOP leaders are overstepping authority to undo 2021 law

BY: GRAHAM MOOMAW - JUNE 5, 2024 11:24 AM

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that the state will no longer follow car emissions standards set by California, despite his party’s failure to repeal or roll back a 2021 Democratic law that tied Virginia to those regulations.

The move tees up what could be another legal fight over Republican leaders’ efforts to undo climate change-related measures Democrats passed when they had full control of state government a few years ago.

The governor has already drawn a lawsuit over his decision to end Virginia’s participation in a regional program meant to curb carbon emissions from power plants, arguing the initiative was too burdensome for regular Virginians who had to absorb the cost through higher electricity bills.

Youngkin has taken a similar line of attack against California’s car emissions rules, which aim to slow climate change and reduce pollution by requiring the automotive industry to shift to selling more electric vehicles. The California standards require 100% of new cars sold to be electric vehicles starting in 2035, meaning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles would gradually be banned over the next decade.

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GRAHAM MOOMAW
gmoomaw@virginiamercury.com
https://x.com/gmoomaw
A veteran Virginia politics reporter, Graham grew up in Hillsville and Lynchburg, graduating from James Madison University and earning a master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. Before joining the Mercury in 2019, he spent six years at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, most of that time covering the governor's office, the General Assembly and state politics. He also covered city hall and politics at The Daily Progress in Charlottesville.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.