Sen. Harding on stalled EV mandate “study” bill: “A victory for CT taxpayers.”

For Immediate Release

Sen. Republican Leader Stephen Harding, the Ranking Senator on the Environment Committee, today issued the following statement regarding majority Democrats’ announcing that they have opted to not vote on legislation to study the electric vehicle mandate in the 2024.

“This is a victory for Connecticut taxpayers. This bill is now thankfully dead, thanks to the thousands of taxpayers who spoke out against it and signed our petition at BanWithNoPlanCT.com. From the start, Republicans knew that this ‘study’ was a clear path to an electric vehicle mandate. This legislation was a ‘roadmap’ for the majority party to launch a full-throttle pursuit of a ban on gas-powered vehicles after Election Day. I thank my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate for getting out from under the Capitol’s gold dome and talking about this bill directly with citizens on Main Streets across our state. We must continue to stay vigilant, because this idea will no doubt be brought up again in 2024. Republicans support efforts to protect the environment and to make the air cleaner, but the multiple question marks and contradictions surrounding the mandate’s achievability, affordability, and budgetary impact remain serious concerns.”