Washington state is preparing to ban most new gasoline-powered vehicles within the next eight years.
SB 5974 — a piece of legislation recently signed by Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA) — establishes a target that “all publicly owned and privately owned passenger and light-duty vehicles of the model year 2030 or later that are sold, purchased, or registered in Washington state be electric vehicles.” [bold, links added]
An “interagency electric vehicle coordinating council” created by the new law is directed to “complete a scoping plan for achieving the 2030 target.”
“Transportation is our state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. There is no way to talk about climate change without talking about transportation,” Inslee said at the bill signing.
“This package will move us away from the transportation system our grandparents imagined and towards the transportation system our grandchildren dream of.”
The legislation — dubbed “Clean Cars 2030” — was enacted as part of a $17 billion climate agenda called “Move Ahead Washington.”
Other facets of the package include $5.4 billion for “carbon reduction and multimodal expansion,” $2.4 billion for “fish passage barrier removals,” $836 million for “four new hybrid-electric ferries,” and $150 million for “ultra-high-speed rail.”
“We’re investing in projects from rural to urban areas across our state, letting kids ride free on our buses, ferries, and trains, and so much more — and all without punting the cost to working families,” State Sen. Marko Liias (D) explained. “I’m eager for residents across the state to have more efficient and safer commutes — no matter how they’re traveling.”
The electric vehicle legislation was signed into law as gas prices have recently reached historic levels. According to AAA, the average national price of regular gasoline has reached $4.225 per gallon, while the price of diesel has reached $5.117 as of this reporting.
Indeed, other governors are passing new legislation in response to the soaring costs. Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), for instance, wants to send $400 to California residents for each registered vehicle, capped at two vehicles.
The governor tied the rise in gas prices to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — despite price increases that have occurred since President Joe Biden entered office in 2021.
“We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Newsom said in a statement.
“But this package is also focused on protecting people from volatile gas prices, and advancing clean transportation – providing three months of free public transportation, fast-tracking electric vehicle incentives and charging stations, and new funding for local biking and walking projects.”
Newsom also rejected Republicans’ bid to pause California’s hefty gas tax because the move would help “petro-dictators and oil companies.”
As a letter from the conservative lawmakers explained, “while market forces are responsible for today’s extreme prices, California’s high taxes represent an added burden, and working Californians simply cannot afford gas prices approaching $6 per gallon.”
As of March 31, the average price of gas in California was $5.896 per gallon, according to AAA.
Read more at Daily Wire
About twenty years ago Washington decided to meet growing power demands by conservation instead of building new power plants. The power in this state is marginal as a result. The aerospace company I worked for tore down and rebuilt a large building in Seattle. During the tear down and construction the building was off of the grid. When it came time to connect the power, Seattle Light told the company that the power wasn’t available. The company protested that there had been power for the old building. The utility responded that power had been given to someone else. Eventually the building got power but this shows just how tenuous the grid is in this state.
I assume “$2.4 billion for fish passage barrier removals” means tearing down dams. So we are starting with a marginal grid, will reduce its capacity by removing dams, and then add a big load of electric cars. Washington will follow in the foot steps of California.
Statements such as, “We’re investing in projects from rural to urban areas across our state” really make me angry. They don’t understand and probably don’t care about the situation in rural areas. I live in a rural area too remote to ever have public transportation. Even when working I couldn’t afford to buy a brand new car and now that I’m retired an electric car is certainly impossible. Their projects for rural areas don’t work for people in our family’s situation.
Unfortunately I live in the state of Washington. The article is only half right when it calls Washington “Climate-Obsessed.” This is true of Governor Inslee and the legislature who are under the control of the green radicals. This is not true most Washington residents despite the fact that this state is deep blue. Every time a climate change issue is on the state wide ballot it loses.
My daughter, who is a conservative, read comments about the electric car mandate on a liberal, and a very liberal web site. Concern was being expressed over the fact that most people can’t afford an electric car. There was concern about our electric grid having the capacity to power all of these cars. Of great concern was the plight of apartment dwellers that don’t have charging stations. The time is excessive to charge a car away from home and there are not likely to be enough stations. The consensus on both web sites was this mandate is a bad idea. These are the same concerns that conservatives have been expressing.
If conservatives and a large number of liberals know that the Clean Cars 2030 Act is a bad idea, then why did it become law? This shows the high degree of control the extreme environmentalists have over the politicians
What else can you ever expect from the Stupid Jackass Party(Liberal Democrat Party)their always for Banning or Regulating a something and Inslee the Idiot is right on the top when it comes to frwer Freedoms and more Red Tape and Paperwork