Connecticut is moving toward becoming the latest state with plans to halt the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The opportunity for public comment is open until August 23 for state residents to submit commentary ahead of the coming 2035 mandate.

Proposed state regulations would require auto dealerships in Connecticut to begin progressively selling more zero- or low-emission vehicles, including passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks, in 2027 and through 2035, until the new mandate would begin.

The regulations also require increasing percentages of electric medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles, such as dump trucks, sold in the state by 2032, depending on the vehicle class. The concept was part of a wide-ranging law passed in 2022 that adopted California’s clean air standards for certain trucks in an effort to reduce vehicle emissions.

California air regulators adopted regulations last summer to have all new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs be electric or hydrogen by 2035.

In an email blast to his constituents on August 9, State Representative Mitch Bolinsky said public comments will help drive the timing and investment in Connecticut’s transition.

“Regardless of your position, you should be heard and be on record because these actions will directly affect nearly all of us,” Bolinsky stated. “All positions on this important public policy matter will be considered, and individual responses held in confidence.”

DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said she expects they will be ready for legislative approval by the end of year.

Connecticut joins Rhode Island, Maryland, New Jersey, and New Mexico in announcing plans to adopt the new standards. Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont finalized adoption of the rules this year or in late 2022.

The regulations would only apply to vehicle manufacturers and would not affect used gas-powered cars, which would still be allowed to be driven in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is accepting written comments on the two proposed regulations.

To access the proposed regulations on cars visit https://eregulations.ct.gov/eRegsPortal/. (Tracking Number PR2023-023).

To comment on either of the proposed regulations concerning cars, visit the Comment Submission Form for Advanced Clean Cars II.

To access the proposed regulations on trucks, visit https://regulations.ct.cov/eRegsPortal (Tracking Number PR2023-020).

To comment on either of the proposed regulations, visit the Comment Submission Form for Tracking Number PR2023-020.

Bolinsky’s Stand

In his email this week, Bolinsky made it clear where he stands within the conversation.

“In the name of transparency, I would like you to know I voted ‘NAY’ on Connecticut’s Clean Air Act in May of 2022,” he wrote in part. “I did so NOT in opposition to a clean energy transition but for its rushed timing; overall, the vote was contentious and divided.”

The state rep has “significant concerns,” he wrote “about the timing and unintended consequences of the proposed bans, beginning with their potential financial impact on families and businesses already grappling with the high costs associated with today’s high inflation and interest rates.

“We live in one of the nation’s most energy-expensive states, in part due to Connecticut’s very fragile electric grid,” he said, pointing to factors including federal and state governments already charging state residents with a “‘congestion’ surcharge, as well as infrastructure subsidies,” Bolinsky noted.

Having worked with California on its 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, Bolinsky said this week he “does not believe Connecticut’s present grid will be ready to shoulder the load of a rapid move to full electrification of transportation — now, or by 2035.”

California has had a 15-year head-start working on solutions for their motor vehicle regulatory edicts and technology, he also pointed out.

“While I believe it is a foregone conclusion that CO2 emissions reduction, cleaner transportation and green energy generation are our future, I’ve always been of the mind that transitions are best handled in stages, and only accelerated to the point of emergency action in terms of the rush to develop solutions, the technology needed for a diversified transition, and in ways that do not damage our economy or leave us without solutions for toxic by-products we may unintentionally create without immediate mitigation strategies,” Bolinsky also said.

The 2035 standards being proposed by Governor Lamont and DEEP Commissioner Dykes were adopted from California’s 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, “our nation’s most aggressive emissions regulations. Our fragile grid and a profound lack of charging infrastructure puts us at a 15-year disadvantage versus our friends in California,” he said.

The proud owner of a plug-in vehicle, Bolinsky said he experiences the state’s lack of infrastructure first-hand every day. He has very few options, he said, “other than doing 95 percent of my charging at home, for lack of public charging.”

Connecticut is late to California’s party, he said. The state will need more time and resource flexibility to develop and build out practical, affordable capacity, his email concluded.

Newtown residents who would like to speak with Bolinsky about the mandates, or other topics concerning this town, are invited to contact him at Mitch.Bolinsky@housegop.ct.gov or 860-240-8700.