Bill would require stricter vehicle emissions standards in Virginia by 2025

A bill to implement stricter vehicle emissions standards by 2025 will head to the Senate this week.

The bill, HB 1965 is one part of a trio of legislation this session that aims at lowering Virginia’s carbon emissions.

This bill, introduced by Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, sets standards to make Virginia’s transportation, largely made up of cars and trucks, more environmentally friendly since transportation accounted for nearly half of Virginia’s carbon emissions as of 2017, according to studies from the Energy Information Administration. It follows California standards to set new vehicle efficiency standards for low-emission and zero-emission vehicles, which will have the effect of requiring dealerships to offer more of these cars, as well as incentivizing consumers to purchase more efficient vehicles by 2025.

The other two companion bills are HB 1979, which establishes rebates to purchasers and lessees of low-emissions and electric vehicles, and HB 2282, which directs the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to report on and recommend policy proposals that could, “accelerate widespread transportation electrification of the Commonwealth.”

HB 1979 would offer a cash incentive to buy low-emission and zero-emission vehicles, HB 2282 would call for more research on these policies by the SCC and HB 1965 sets concrete standards on the future production of vehicles. HB 1979 is still in committee in the house. HB 2282 passed the house last week and is currently in the senate committee on commerce and labor.

The House passed HB 1965 by a vote of 55-44 Monday but not without some discussion of the significant cost necessary to make this law effective. Virginia will need to invest in electric vehicle related infrastructure, like charging stations and other accommodations, for this to work, Del. R. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, said Monday.

A [Dept. of Mines, Minerals and Energy] stakeholder group from this summer estimated that about $40 million is needed in the first year, and the cost could continue toward $750 million over several years to make this program effective,” Ware said.

The house should wait for the SCC to report further on policies relating to lowering carbon emissions caused by vehicles and other transportation, Ware said.

Del. David Reid, D-Loudon County, said that this bill is just one part of the trio mentioned above, and all three are necessary to create effective policy on this issue. The cost is significant, he said, but funding will not be required immediately.

“These temporary financial incentives … while it might be the cost or the prospective cost of $720 million, we … are not going to be allocating that money at this point in time,” Reid said. “We’re very much aware of the fiscal constraints under which we currently reside. But we do need to be able to set up a program and be able to set up a process so that in the event that the federal government is actually going to be moving money towards electrification of the transportation sector that we’re prepared.”

Rebates will help bridge the gap between the current moment and the future, he said.

The Virginia Automobile Dealers Association also supported HB 1965, according to a memo to lawmakers on Jan. 25.

“It is clear this legislation can proceed as we are comfortable with the understanding and commitment shown by legislators to address other major components of this issue,” wrote Don Hall, president and CEO of the association.

The Senate will see the bill this week.