CT GOP lawmakers: “Sham” EV mandate study bill gets Wednesday public hearing

For Immediate Release

CT GOP lawmakers: “Sham” EV mandate study bill gets Wednesday, Mar. 13 public hearing

Urge public to speak out

Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding and House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora today raised concerns regarding legislation proposed by Democrat lawmakers which will study the potential for electric vehicle mandates in Connecticut. A public hearing will be held Wednesday, Mar. 13 at 10 a.m. in Room 2E of the Legislative Office Building. Click here to submit testimony on House Bill 5485. Click here to register to speak.

The bill calls for the creation of an “Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Coordinating Council” which is tasked with creating a “Zero Emission Vehicle Roadmap”.

“This bill creates a sham council, driven by the governor’s agency heads, ” said Harding and Candelora. “It will put Connecticut on a pre-determined route toward electric vehicle mandates and the elimination of consumer choice. That’s Democrats’ ‘roadmap’ for Connecticut, which, by the way, is due right after Election Day. The many residents whose concern about the gas-powered vehicle ban will see this council for what it is. We urge residents to speak out and again shut down any effort to follow California’s radical emissions standards. Tell majority Democrats to stop putting their unrealistic ideological desires ahead of your common sense concerns.”

Harding and Candelora noted that the roadmap does not require a review of the costs associated with:

• charging infrastructure
• electric grid upgrades
• increased electric supply needed
• end of life battery disposal
• additional shipping costs
• adverse impact on transportation infrastructure from increased weight of EVs
• gas tax revenue replacement

The roadmap also does not:

• require a review of the adverse environmental aspects of EVs, such as mining of raw materials and excessive tire debris
• require a review of issues relating to pollution from other states traveling east to Connecticut

The Republican lawmakers said while they support efforts to protect the environment and to make the air cleaner, the multiple question marks and contradictions surrounding the mandate’s achievability, affordability, and budgetary impact remain serious concerns.