Republican lawmakers in Wyoming have introduced a bill that aims to ban electric vehicle sales in the state by 2035.
The measure, introduced to the state legislature on Friday, was sponsored by six state legislators. It states that citizens and industries would be encouraged not to purchase electric vehicles before the ban goes into effect.
Wyoming lawmakers propose ban on electric vehicle sales https://t.co/jG7QAFj3Yb
— KFOR (@kfor) January 17, 2023
“The proliferation of electric vehicles at the expense of gas-powered vehicles will have deleterious impacts on Wyoming’s communities and will be detrimental to Wyoming’s economy and the ability for the country to efficiently engage in commerce,” the bill reads.
The legislation said that adding new electricity charging stations would require “massive” amounts of additional power in order to “sustain the misadventure of electric vehicles,” adding that the oil business has employed thousands of people throughout the state.
This comes as Democrats continue to push their green agenda involving zero-emission cars. 15 additional states have taken action to restrict the sale of gas-powered vehicles. The bill’s final paragraph directs Wyoming’s secretary of state to submit a copy of the legislation to California’s governor, who has consistently supported his state’s ban on gas-powered vehicles.
Last year, California lawmakers moved to require all new vehicles in the state to run on electricity by 2035 in the hopes of cutting emissions from cars in half by 2040. The California Air Resources Board has also proposed requiring medium- and heavy-duty trucks to be fully electric by the year 2035.
President Joe Biden also announced a goal of ensuring that 50 percent of new car sales would be EVs by 2030. Critics, however, have blasted the Biden administration for giving a “false impression” about EVs, noting that they are expensive and often unreliable.
“[The EV push] is really kind of a con job,” said Myron Ebell, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment. “It may be a good deal for some people in some places under some circumstances. But by-and-large right now, it’s not a good deal.”
According to Kelley Blue Book, EVs accounted for 5.6 percent of new car purchases in the U.S. from April through June.
