Republican leaders draft bills to combat EV regulations

Republicans propose bills to stop proposed EV regulations

Delaware Republicans are circulating two bills that seek to limit the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s ability to adopt or enforce new regulations related to electric vehicles.

One of the bills would require DNREC to get approval from the legislature before it adopts the new regulations while the other bill would remove DNREC’s ability to put out regulations governing vehicle sales.

Neither has been filed yet.

The bill to require legislative approval will be filed by Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown.

The bill that removes DNREC’s ability to regulate vehicle stocking and sales is sponsored by House Minority Leader Ramone, R-Pike Creek. 

Enacting either bill would accomplish the goal of reining in DNREC’s regulatory authority and returning power to Delawareans, the legislators said in a press release.

“DNREC should be subservient to our citizens, not the other way around,” Pettyjohn said.  “A couple of things that we cherish here in Delaware are liberty and independence, so much so that it is part of our state motto. 

“I do not think there is much liberty or independence in a mandate that is coming from an unelected body here in Delaware, the Department of Natural Resources, pretty much telling people that you have to buy a certain vehicle, even if it does not fit their needs.”

Most Delawareans don’t want to be forced to buy electric vehicles and don’t want DNREC to be able to unilaterally impose car-buying rules, Pettyjohn said.

“Delawareans seeking to purchase a new vehicle should be free to select the car, truck, or SUV that best meets their families’ needs and means, ” the legislators said.

Ramone said the issue cuts across class and geography, although it arguably most affects those who have the least.

“Some households of modest means that depend on cheaper used cars to meet their transportation needs will see those vehicles climb dramatically in price as the EV sales mandates reduce supply and increase,” he said.

In addition, he said, thousands of families live in urban areas, or in apartments or condos where EV chargers don’t exist and cannot be easily or inexpensively installed by residents.

The regulations DNREC is proposing would eliminate our citizens’ ability to choose,” Ramone said in the release.  “It’s a terrible slippery slope. I just don’t think the people in my district and our state are ready for this type of zealous [governmental] overreach.”

But Nikki Lavoie, DNREC’s chief communication officer, said that the regulations actually will give Delaware residents more choices.

“Manufacturers would deliver more electric vehicles to Delaware, as they do for other states who have adopted similar regulations,” she said. “The regulations will put the responsibility on automakers and not consumers.”

The governor’s office won’t support either bill.

Emily Hershman, director of communications for Gov. John Carney, said in a statement in response to the two bills that DNREC’s proposed regulation would help reduce air pollution and that the regulatory process always encourages public input.

Both bills would be retroactive to March 1, 2023, and evolve around the Advanced Clean Car I regulations, adopted in 2014.

With a Democratic supermajority in the Senate and a majority in the House, neither is guaranteed to be heard before a committee or make it to the House or Senate floor.

The announcement of the bills comes the same week that DNREC finally issued proposed regulations following an executive order from Carney in March 2022 saying the state would adopt California zero-emission regulations.

Carney said then that requiring more electric vehicles to be sold in the state would make it easier for people to buy one.

“By adopting the ZEV regulations, Delaware drivers won’t have to go out of state to find an electric vehicle to purchase, and our dealerships will benefit by keeping Delaware customers in Delaware,” Carney said.

Carney’s order is part of a national Democratic move to push electric vehicles as a way to have cleaner air and less environmental impact.

The new rules that the Republican bills are trying to stop come from an amendment to Delaware’s Low Emission Vehicle Program.

The program, which will see a name change to the Delaware Advanced Clean Car Program, would require increasing numbers of zero-emission vehicles to be sold at Delaware dealerships until it reaches 100% in 2035. 

The public regulations focus on car manufacturers, even though Delaware has none.

But manufacturers do have contracts with dealers, and dealers are obligated to sell what they are sent. 

The proposed regulation encourages car manufacturers to send increasing numbers of electric vehicles to Delaware by establishing a zero-emission credit system based on the number of zero-emission vehicles sent to Delaware. Those zero-emission credits are similar to greenhouse emission credits and can be moved from state to state. 

Much of the draft regulation cites California rules when it comes to how many zero-emission vehicles should be sent to Delaware to sell.

The proposed rules say that starting with the model year 2026, 35% of cars sold by dealerships must be electric. That percentage would increase by around 8% each year until it reaches 100% in 2035, wherein all new cars sold at dealerships must be zero-emission vehicles.

While used gas cars will be able to be registered in the state of Delaware, Shawn Garvin, DNREC secretary, has said that no new gas-powered vehicles will be able to be registered in the state by 2035.

The criteria for what counts as a zero-emission vehicle is based on California regulations, which stipulate they must have a minimum range of 200 miles, last 10 years or 150,000 miles, and meet certain requirements related to the battery, charging, warranty and servicing.

The proposed regulation also changes the date manufacturers need to submit their production data from May 1 to March 1.

Most of the effective dates for the new regulations are set in the draft regulation for Nov. 30, 2022.

As the Delaware State Republican Party waited for the proposed regulations to be released, it hosted five town halls on the subject. About 1,200 people attend at least one. 

The Delaware GOP is asking people to donate to them, through WinRed, to help fight the electric vehicle mandate, with a goal of $7,004.

Public comments for the new regulation will be accepted at and before the DNREC’S April 26 meeting here.

Pettyjohn said he has asked DNREC to hold in-person public hearings in all three counties instead of the single virtual hearing they currently have planned. 

He said if the agency does not do more to allow citizens to express their wishes, he and Ramone will take steps to collect and share public opinion on this issue.

Sam Haut