ANNAPOLIS, MD—The Maryland House Republican Caucus on Tuesday responded to Governor Wes Moore’s announcement that Maryland would automatically follow California’s lead and ban the sale of gas-powered cars in Maryland.

Governor Wes Moore on Monday announced Maryland’s adoption of the multi-state Advanced Clean Cars II rule. Maryland is moving quickly to adopt the regulation, which requires manufacturers to continuously increase the share of electric vehicles they sell, reaching 100% of passenger car and light truck sales by model year 2035.

“It is both unfortunate and counter-productive that Governor Moore has made the false choice to move forward with this radical environmental policy that has not been vetted for its impact on our state,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel. “This is a policy that was created in California. It is based on California’s economy, California’s transportation needs, and California’s electrical grid.”

“Today’s announcement was treated like a celebration, with the practical realities of this policy completely ignored,” said House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy. “The average price of an electric car is over $60,000 – the price of a luxury vehicle. This is not something that is affordable for many Maryland families. Currently, only 1% of the 5.2 million automobiles registered in Maryland are electric. Under this policy, 43% of new vehicle sales in Maryland must be electric cars by 2027.”

“Maryland will likely be the only state in the region moving forward with this radical environmental policy,” said Delegate Buckel. “Our state does not exist in a vacuum, and these policies will do little-to-nothing to impact emissions in our region. All it will do is put more stress on the household budgets of Marylanders. It is completely irresponsible.”

In their 2023 Legislative Package, House Republicans included HB 487 – Affordable Emissions Standards Act of 2023. This bill would require studies of the impact on Maryland’s economy, the state’s budget, and the effect on Maryland’s power grid before this new regulation could go into effect.

House Bill 487 had a hearing in February and no other action has been taken.