After being forced to retreat last year from an effort to phase out sales of new gas-powered cars over the next decade, Gov. Ned Lamont now says that he has little appetite to resume that fight under the Trump administration.
“I said a year ago, whatever it was, we’re going to follow the federal standards,” Lamont told The Connecticut Mirror. “I’m sorry that there probably are no federal standards now.”
Lamont was referring to the fact that Connecticut automatically reverted to federal emissions standards on the sale of new vehicles after state lawmakers — including some Democrats — balked at the idea of following California’s timeline requiring manufacturers to offer only electric and other zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
Under the Biden administration, those federal rules still required that EVs account for more than half of new vehicle sales by 2032, a consolation for climate-conscious state advocates and lawmakers.
Even that more relaxed timeline, however, was revoked amid the flurry of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump on his first day in office.
“It doesn’t work if you’re an EV manufacturer and have five states with a different set of standards. I appreciate California’s one of them,” Lamont added. “It made a lot of sense when it was a national agenda and over 10 years … It’s not going to work having four states go off on their own.”
Under the federal Clean Air Act, states have the option of following either the national vehicle emissions standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency or a stricter set of rules drafted by regulators in California.
Connecticut began following the California standards in 2004 and continued doing so as regulators in that state gradually shifted from the goal of reducing smog-forming pollutants to fighting climate change. That led to Gov. Gavin Newsom announcing an ambitious plan several years ago to begin phasing out all new sales of traditional gas-powered vehicles.
When Lamont attempted to follow suit, he ran into opposition from at least two Democrats on the legislature’s evenly partisan Regulations Review Committee. Rather than watch the proposal fail, Lamont withdrew the proposal ahead of a planned vote.
After the regulatory path failed, lawmakers briefly considered legislation last year that would allow Connecticut to follow the California approach, but with an opt-out down the road should the transition to electric prove too difficult.
That idea, too, fell flat in a election year as many Democrats grew anxious about the issue in the face of repeated Republican attacks.
One of those Democrats who publicly opposed the effort, state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, said last week that her views on the California regulations have not softened in the wake of Trump’s decision to eliminate the more moderate federal rules.
“I don’t think that that’s anything we should consider,” said Osten, who represents a largely rural district where she has raised concerns about the availability of EV chargers.
Environmental advocates said they were disappointed but not surprised Monday to hear that Lamont was declining to reconsider the California approach. Charles Rothenberger, a climate and energy attorney with Save the Sound, said that even if the governor did attempt to resubmit the regulations now, Connecticut would likely be a model year or two behind due to the delay.
Meanwhile, he noted that a dozen other states and the District of Columbia continue to follow California’s timeline, despite Trump’s pledge to rip away the state’s ability to set its own emissions standards. Rothenberger said there is “absolutely no mechanism” in federal law for the administration to do so.
“There certainly is mischief the administration can create,” Rothenberger said. “It maybe doesn’t have as much relevance in Connecticut as it does in our neighboring states that are continuing to enforce the California standards.”
Both the California and the Biden administration’s emissions standards applied to the sales of new vehicles, meaning that older, used vehicles could continue to be bought and sold amid the transition to electric.
The standards also faced vehement opposition from the fossil fuel industry, which depicted them as a “ban” on gas-powered cars in campaign ads that ran across swing states last year.
Michael Giaimo, the Northeast Regional Director of the American Petroleum Institute, released a statement on Monday praising state lawmakers for “prudently refraining” from following the path of California.
“To that end, we encourage Connecticut officials to continue to take a measured approach that preserves consumer choice and the ability to access vehicles that fit the particular needs and desires of residents and businesses,” Giaimo said.
Last month, California rescinded its request for approval of a federal waiver that would allow it to begin phasing out sales of larger diesel trucks after it became clear that the Trump administration would not approve the waiver, according to CalMatters.
Still, California is moving forward with its first deadline in the transition to smaller EVs, requiring at least 35% of model year 2026 vehicles be sold with electric, fuel cell or plug-in hybrid engines. About a quarter of new vehicles sold in California last year met that standard.
In Connecticut, by contrast, EVs accounted for roughly 11% of new vehicles sold last year, according to data from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
Lamont said that he will focus on determining what effect Trump’s orders would have on the rollout of EV charging stations, which were being funded through millions of dollars in federal aid under the previous administration.
This story was originally published in the Connecticut Mirror Feb. 3, 2025.
