AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Board of Environmental Protection is set to vote just before Christmas on a controversial rule aimed at phasing out new sales of gas-powered cars and boosting electric vehicle adoption.
The Dec. 21 vote will come after months of passionate debate and feedback on the plan the Natural Resources Council of Maine and several allies proposed this summer through a little-known provision in state law allowing citizens to bypass the Legislature and ask agencies to adopt or change rules if at least 150 registered voters sign a petition.
The board looks likely to approve the new rule modeled after California’s EV plan, although car dealers have shared skepticism about demand and Republicans in the minority at the Democratic-controlled State House have tried in vain to stop the plan from advancing.
What would the rule require?
The “Advanced Clean Cars II” plan would require battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to make up 43 percent of new car sales for 2027 models and 82 percent of new sales by model year 2032. Officials noted earlier this year electric vehicles were making up just 6 percent of new sales in Maine.
NRCM and other supporters have noted it would not require anyone to give up current vehicles, nor would it apply to used car sales. The proposed rule would not go as far as California’s requirements to end the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, but it would direct Maine to review progress by 2028 to determine if it should ultimately adopt the 2035 mandate.
The electric vehicle rule would not apply to emergency, off-road, rural postal carrier and military vehicles, along with rental vehicles with a final destination outside Maine.
Will Maine enact similar sales requirements for electric trucks?
It doesn’t look like it. Citing concerns over cost and logistical issues, the board agreed in October to not have staff move forward with the “Advanced Clean Trucks” plan that would similarly try to encourage electric truck sales. It was pushed by environmentalists but was called unworkable by trucking interests.
Still, Josh Caldwell, NRCM’s climate outreach coordinator, noted that a state medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle “roadmap” is in development based on feedback from a workgroup that met in 2022.
How is the board leaning on the EV rule?
Through an informal “straw poll” at its October meeting, four of the seven board members indicated support for advancing the electric car rule. Two were opposed and one was absent. Each of the seven board members were each appointed or reappointed by Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, and confirmed by the Legislature.
While staff could return with suggested tweaks to the proposal at the Dec. 21 meeting, Caldwell said supporters have not heard of any planned changes.
How many EVs are on the road in Maine?
The Maine Climate Council released updated figures Dec. 1 showing 12,369 electric vehicles are on the road, about 3,000 more than last year. It is still a long way from the Mills administration’s goal of having 219,000 EVs registered in Maine by 2030.
Cumberland County has the most EVs overall at per 1,000 people at 16, according to state data. Hancock and Knox counties are just behind at 13 and 12, respectively.
What have supporters and opponents argued?
Supporters have said the rule will position Maine among the dozen states with California-style EV rules that manufacturers send vehicles to first and that Maine is expanding charging infrastructure via federal funds.
“We’re not going out on an island here,” Caldwell said, noting the Governor’s Energy Office previously presented to the board on charging infrastructure readiness but has not explicitly taken a position on the rule. Mills has said she opposes copying California’s 2035 mandate.
More than 1 million all-electric vehicles have been sold in the U.S. this year, tripling sales from 2020, which Bloomberg’s energy research arm said is proof that concerns of an electric vehicle slowdown have been “greatly exaggerated” and that President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and federal tax credits have spurred EV adoption.
Republicans have argued EV requirements are not appropriate for a state like Maine with long, cold winters and pointed to automakers like Ford pausing investments due to buyers becoming more cautious as the average EV price, without incentives, hovers around $52,000.
A panel of top lawmakers voted against allowing a bill from Rep. Joshua Morris, R-Turner, that would “enhance legislative oversight” of EV rules to receive consideration in 2024.
Maine Automobile Dealers Association President Tom Brown testified in August that dealerships have unsold electric vehicles rather than a supply problem and that his group supports “voluntary selection by customers.”
What’s happening in Congress?
Electric vehicles have also received attention on Capitol Hill. U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a centrist Democrat representing Maine’s 2nd District, joined House Republicans in voting to pass a bill Wednesday that would block the Biden administration’s proposal to require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2032.
Golden, who also opposes the state plan, said favoring “vehicles that we don’t currently have technology or the necessary infrastructure to support, is unwise.”
Correction: A source in an earlier version of this story indicated that Gov. Janet Mills’ energy office has taken a position on the electric vehicle rules. It has not.
