The House of Delegates today passed House Bill 1378, ending Virginia’s ill-advised link to California’s electric car mandate, restoring Virginian’s freedom to buy gasoline powered cars in the future, and returning control of these policies to elected officials accountable to Virginians.

“Our House Republican team is keeping our promise to Virginians to put their elected representatives back in charge of our emissions policy, and them back in charge of their financial decisions,” said House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. “The Democrats’ decision to tie our Commonwealth to the actions of unelected bureaucrats in another state was irresponsible folly. Policymakers should be accountable to the voters. With this bill, we’re returning to that bedrock principle,” he added.

“Electric vehicles may be the future, but right now they’re not practical for every Virginia family. There’s a reason most EVs are sold and used in Northern Virginia. High price tags, limited range, and sparse charging locations make them a bad option for most everywhere else in our Commonwealth,” said House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City. “With this legislation, Virginians can buy the cars they want, not the cars the state government says they must. After all, if you have to pass a law to make people buy something, it’s probably not as popular as you thought it was.”

“Banning the sale of gasoline powered cars in Virginia did more than just limit consumer choices, it put our power grid in serious danger,” said Del. Tony Wilt, R-Rockingham, the bill’s patron. “As we saw not that long ago, all it takes is one good cold snap to push our grid to the edge of rolling blackouts. Adding hundreds of thousands of electricity-hungry cars to the mix would only make the situation worse. Our legislation lets Virginians, not unelected bureaucrats in California, decide what cars they want to purchase.”