Legislators want final say over Maine’s electric vehicle rules

The Legislature’s two top Democrats and a group of minority Republicans want to take control of Maine’s electric vehicle rules.

A bill proposed Tuesday would give lawmakers, not a citizen board, the final say on clean car standards meant to curtail vehicle tailpipe emissions, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

The standards, which are still being developed, would require increasing the share of zero-emissions and near-zero emissions cars and trucks sold in Maine to 51% of all vehicles sold in 2028 – up from 43% as previously proposed – and 82% of all vehicles sold in 2032.

The new bill would classify those regulations as “major substantive” rules that require approval by the Legislature, rather than “routine technical” rules handled by the Board of Environmental Protection.

The BEP has scheduled a meeting March 20 to consider the EV rules, which have drawn criticism from Republicans and car dealers over the relatively high cost of the vehicles and a scarcity of vehicle chargers, particularly in Maine’s large rural areas.

The legislation would apply retroactively to May 22, 2023.

Environmentalists last May petitioned state officials, saying that Maine had not adopted any policies addressing how the transportation sector would comply with a state law requiring Maine to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 45% below 1990 levels within the next decade, and 80% below those levels by 2050. The transportation sector is the state’s largest emissions contributor.

Jack Shapiro, climate and clean energy director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, criticized the new legislation, saying it would overturn consideration of what he called a ‘clean car standard.’ ”

Shapiro said that despite the support of the Democratic House speaker and Senate president, it’s a Republican bill and is coming at the “very last minute” without an opportunity for the public to comment.

Republicans have focused their opposition to the EV rules on the BEP, a seven-member citizen board appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature. It should be denied the authority to change Mainers’ vehicle choices, GOP lawmakers have said.

The BEP was to consider the EV rules in December, but put off the meeting following a Dec. 18 storm that knocked out power and made roads impassable in many areas of the state.

By rescheduling the meeting, officials delayed the rules another model year, to 2028 from 2027.

The BEP plans to recommend that the Legislature consider revising state law to authorize lawmakers to rewrite vehicle standards, state environmental spokesmen said in December.

The bipartisan legislation was presented by Rep. Michael Soboleski, R-Phillips. It’s co-sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Aroostook, and House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland. Others who signed on to the legislation include House Republican leader Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor, and other Republicans, including Reps. Reagan Paul of Winterport and Katrina Smith of Palermo, and Sens. Russell Black of Franklin and Peter Lyford of Penobscot.

Jackson said he’s “always in favor of the Legislature doing its job.”

He said in an interview he supports “clean cars” and favors incentives that will “let technology catch up” with more and better EV charging stations.

“I live five hours from this building,” he said, referring to the Capitol in Augusta. “I don’t think a vehicle can get me there on one charge.”

Several Republican proposals that sought to give lawmakers greater authority failed in January in the Legislative Council, which is made up of Republican and Democratic leaders in both chambers.

Environmental advocates say gradually eliminating gas-powered cars, a major source of air pollution, is essential if Maine is to reach its zero-carbon goals. The policy has won acceptance in a dozen other states, but has met resistance in Connecticut.

The rules have been adopted in California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

Environmentalists say if Maine fails to establish EV standards, manufacturers will send advanced EVs to the other states, leaving Maine consumers with fewer choices.