New Jersey gov. moves to implement EV sales mandate

(The Center Square) — New Jersey will require car manufacturers to ramp up sales of electric vehicles leading to a ban on the sale of new fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035 under new rules proposed by Gov. Phil Murphy.

Murphy announced on Monday that he has filed the Advanced Clean Cars II proposal with the Office of Administrative Law that would, if approved, require vehicle manufacturers to make zero-emission vehicles an increasing percentage of their new light-duty vehicle sales, ramping up to 100% of vehicle sales by 2035.

By doing so, New Jersey joins New York, California and the European Union in banning new gas vehicle sales by 2035.

Murphy called the move a "commitment to every New Jersey family and the air they breathe" and said it "recognizes that New Jersey is just one crucial piece of our global response to climate change."

Murphy claims the new mandate won't impose any obligations on consumers or car dealers and provides "compliance flexibilities" for manufacturers, including a credit trading mechanism.

He has also signed New Jersey on to the Accelerating to Zero Coalition’s Zero Emission Vehicle Declaration, a global pact that will commit the state to a zero-emission vehicle future.

The Murphy administration says it has allocated $75 million to help meet demand for installation of EV charging stations at businesses, multi-unit residential buildings and public locations.

"As New Jersey continues experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change, we have the power and obligation to reduce its effects by limiting the emissions of climate pollutants," Shawn M. LaTourette, the state's environmental protection commissioner. said in a statement. “Through the adoption of zero-emissions vehicle standards, New Jersey can reduce its greatest source of climate damaging emissions, improve air quality and public health, and support a growing cleantech marketplace that will create even more green jobs in New Jersey.”

New Jersey Republicans have criticized Murphy's plans to adopt California's stringent EV rules, arguing that it will force the state's consumers to buy expensive electric cars and impact energy supplies.

New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Steven Oroho, R-Sussex, has labeled Murphy’s green energy plan "extreme, expensive, and totally unrealistic." He says many New Jersey households depend on cheaper used vehicles, and the proposed rules would dramatically increase prices as the state's EV sales mandate reduces supply and increases demand.

"It seems the governor was serious when he said he wants to turn New Jersey into the California of the East Coast," Oroho said in a recent statement. "Somebody should tell him that’s not a good thing when people and businesses are fleeing California in droves as the Golden State declines under liberal policy failures."