This announcement out of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin's office yesterday is pretty cool news. 

In 2021, under the benevolent eye of uber-prog Democratic black-face aficionado Gov Ralph Northam, the completely Democratic-held VA legislature decided to commit the state to follow the California emission standards, which, as everyone knows, are tougher than the federal ones. Progs of a feather flock together. 

In 2022, doubling down on their infinite wisdom, VA  lawmakers saw fit to impose what's known as CA's Advanced Clean Car II regulations on their fellow Virginians. In essence, what that was going to do was impose a 100% EV mandate on the state by 2035.

...The California 2035 ban, first announced by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 and made official by the state in 2022, is staggered over the next 11 years. According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) plan, 35% of all new cars sold in California in 2026 are to to be electric or hybrids, with the amount climbing to 68% by 2030, and 100% by 2035. Following California’s official 2022 announcement, many other states quickly joined California either due to quick acting state legislatures or trigger laws that would bind them to standards in the Golden state. New York was the first to follow California, creating their own California style 2035 zero emission vehicle law in September 2022.

Virginians themselves were not overly enamored about kowtowing to CA's environmental whackos and restrictions, either. As more and more went wrong with the Golden State and more became obvious as far as drawbacks with EVs themselves, opinion really started to swing against the draconian choice restrictions.

REMINDER: 57% of Virginians say they want the General Assembly to repeal the electric vehicle mandate that would ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles.

California should not be dictating what kind of car Virginians can drive!https://t.co/33dJpZV8vE

— Team Youngkin - Spirit of Virginia (@TeamYoungkin) January 16, 2024

From the moment he got into office, Youngkin had said he would do everything in his power to pull VA out of the nationwide compact of states signed onto this agreement, and he's been as good as his word going after it. He had VA's attorney general digging into the nuances of the agreement, as in, "Was VA obligated to remain a signatory when the updated ACC II regs took effect in Jan 2025?" 

The answer came back, "Nope."

 That's all Youngkin needed to point the state toward the exit sign.

WE'RE OUTTA HERE

Governor Youngkin today announced the end of the California electric vehicle mandate in Virginia, effective at the end of 2024 when California’s current regulations expire. An official opinion from Attorney General Jason Miyares in response to a request by the Governor and Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle confirms that Virginia is not required to comply with expansive new mandates adopted by the unelected California Air Resources Board (CARB) set to take effect January 1, 2025.  

“Once again, Virginia is declaring independence – this time from a misguided electric vehicle mandate imposed by unelected leaders nearly 3,000 miles away from the Commonwealth,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “The idea that government should tell people what kind of car they can or can’t purchase is fundamentally wrong. Virginians deserve the freedom to choose which vehicles best fit the needs of their families and businesses. The law is clear, and I am proud to announce Virginians will no longer be forced to live under this out-of-touch policy.” 

“Today, I’ve issued an official Attorney General Opinion that confirms that Virginians are no longer legally bound to follow the emission standards of California,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “EV mandates like California’s are unworkable and out of touch with reality, and thankfully the law does not bind us to their regulations. California does not control which cars Virginians buy and any thoughts that automobile manufacturers should face millions of dollars in civil penalties rather than allowing our citizens to choose their own vehicles is completely absurd.”  

In 2021, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation authorizing Virginia’s Air Board to adopt California’s “Advanced Clean Cars I” regulation pursuant to Section 177 of the federal Clean Air Act. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently adopted “Advanced Clean Cars II,” set to take effect January 1, 2025, which would require 100% of new cars sold in Model Year 2035 to be electric vehicles. An opinion from Attorney General Jason Miyares confirms the law, as written, does not require Virginia to follow ACC II. Therefore, the Commonwealth will follow federal emissions standards on January 1, 2025. 

Virginia’s Gov. Youngkin says the state is “declaring independence” from California EV mandates: “Government telling people what kind of car to drive is just wrong.” pic.twitter.com/8p1R9DaDLY

— CNBC (@CNBC) June 6, 2024

The hiccup in the plan is that the VA House is in the hands of Democrats at the moment who believe their approval is required to bless the governor's good intentions. They've already voted against repealing this mandate three different times. I'd say they're kinda stuck in their climate cultish ways.

Virginia Senate Democrats on Tuesday defeated for a third straight year Republican efforts to repeal an electric vehicle mandate that aims to reduce carbon pollution through the adoption of California’s stringent rules for vehicle emissions.

A Senate committee voted down three GOP-sponsored bills that would have rolled back the so-called “clean cars” legislation first passed and signed into law in 2021. The law will phase in a requirement that all new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs offered for sale be 100% zero-emission by 2035. Sales of new gas-powered cars will be banned, though drivers will be able to keep their existing gas-powered cars or buy used ones.

"We know that we have not honored the commitment to keep our Earth green and to pass on to our children an environment that is really worthy of their future," said Democratic Sen. Barbara Favola of Arlington as she spoke against the repeal measure, urging her colleagues not to reverse course.

Predictably, they are now swooning at the thought of not trailing in CA's destructive wake. Let the hyperbole and mixed metaphors fly!

...While Virginia is now in the process of exiting the agreement, nothing is yet finalized. Youngkin has set for the state to leave the California 2035 standards by the end of the year. However, state legislators in Virginia said on Wednesday that they would be fighting the Governor on this.

“The decision is reckless, illegal and unconstitutional,” said Democratic Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell. “Working with a legislature that has a different political orientation can be challenging, but we fought a war in 1776 to ensure that an executive would never have the power to nullify laws by press conference.”

WHUT

In any event, Youngkin believes he's got the legal side stitched up.

.@GovernorVA #Younkin Pulls the Plug on #Gas #Car BAN.

He canceled the mandate that all cars sold in the Old Dominion must be #EVs by 2035.

A new legal opinion from the state AG makes a strong #legal argument that the #governor has this power.https://t.co/Gp8MRwtmJw

— Steven Stiles (@StevenS23337721) June 6, 2024

Advocates for the ACC II are starting to get a teensy bit nervous that VA walking will start a rush for the exits. Wyoming has already legislated NEVER allowing an EV mandate in the state. The West Virginia AG wasted no time chiming in...

Great decisions by Virginia Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares. As the AG and next Governor of WV, I will keep pushing back against all of Biden’s destructive EV policies. They are bad for both Virginias and America! https://t.co/mk5vXTM8ic

— Patrick Morrisey (@MorriseyWV) June 5, 2024

...while a reality check is beginning to settle in on some members of the agreement. That oleaginous Governor Gavin Newsom might be in a snit about the defection as his presidential aspirations heat up is like watching a cake melt in the rain.

...“I’m not sure if any states will follow at least immediately, but Virginia has also now set a precedent. Not everyone has to follow California, and can stop at any time. Outside of the West and Northeast, we won’t see this pop up too much. But what Virginia did is big. States can decide to get out of the 2035 mandate. Even California can end it if they wanted to. It is not only possible to get out of it, but it is now being done. That is something that supporters of the plan did not want. Newsom hasn’t said anything on this yet, but you can bet that he is at least a little bit furious at states now dropping out of his mandate. Electric cars are the future, but that 2035 date is cutting it close for many, with many states not even having the infrastructure to support a lot of electric cars yet. And many states are looking at slower rollouts or situations where both can be sold.:

“Many states had already though that California’s mandate wasn’t so great, and now we have the first drop out.”

So all these states that have sold their souls to Randall Flagg-lite's master plan are now doing the side-eye to see who makes a move for the exits...and who sticks around to circle the drain with Newsom.

Like that would be a tough choice.

Well.

I meant for rational people.