Speaking to a sympathetic audience at a Tuesday environmental summit, Gov. Ned Lamont called several times on advocates to lobby state lawmakers in favor of a contested plan to phase out the sale of new gas-powered vehicles.
The governor addressed the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters’ 2024 Environmental Summit as participants lunched on pizza at the Connecticut Science Center.
Lamont’s remarks largely centered on encouraging passage of regulations he withdrew from consideration late last year amid opposition on a bipartisan review committee. The plan would have Connecticut join California and several other states in phasing out the sale of new exclusively gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
“I just want you to make sure that you weigh in with the legislature,” he told the summit. “Tell them this is not a ‘nice to do,’ this is a ‘must-do.’ Push back on the things that are not true. Show we can do this and save you money… show that when you’re in a second-story walk-up in Waterbury, we can make this happen with a hybrid and we’ll also have the charging station nearby for you.”
The comments follow recent talks between the administration and lawmakers on how to advance the plan following its setback in the Regulation Review Committee in November.
Last week, Lamont floated a proposal for the legislature to meet in a special session next week to pass a version of the plan — one that would allow Connecticut policymakers an opportunity in several years to assess its progress toward necessary infrastructure goals like adequate charging stations.
Although many of the legislature’s majority Democrats support the required transition to zero-emission vehicles, legislative leaders have so-far not committed to any specific plan to adopt the proposal. Meanwhile, Republican legislators have steadfastly opposed the regulations.
In an interview Tuesday, Senate President Martin Looney said the issue remained under consideration by leaders as well as members of the legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, who have weighed in with concerns regarding the availability of chargers in lower income communities.
“We are really concerned about the equity aspects of all of this,” Looney said. “We don’t want to have a system whereby lower and moderate income people who don’t have charging stations attached to where they live are going to have to go to public charging stations and we don’t want them to be in a position where they’re going to have to pay more than people who are wealthy enough to have charging stations attached to their dwelling.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for House Speaker Matt Ritter said Tuesday that the speaker favored a plan that would allow the state to revote on the regulations after three years and would require more investments in electric vehicle charging stations.
The eventual bill will likely include the creation of a committee to evaluate Connecticut’s progress toward infrastructure goals prior to an eventual re-vote on the regulations, Looney said. A “major caveat” to the bill’s progress will be the administration’s willingness to address concerns raised by lawmakers, he said.
“How many of those will the governor be willing to accommodate, either administratively or how many might have to be included in the bill,” Looney said. “We’re still a distance away from having a bill.”
Lamont told reporters he would accept passage during either a special session or regular session. He was receptive to the idea of allowing policymakers to revote on the regulations after a period of time.
The governor also seemed amenable to the suggestion that Connecticut should spend more on infrastructure investments, though he called the idea potentially “premature” given possible private sector and federal government spending.
“If we have to do more because there’s some communities that are disadvantaged and they don’t have access to the charging, we’ll get it done,” he said.
Opposition to the regulations, along with the messaging used by critics, have frustrated proponents in the legislature.
On Tuesday, Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, was among the state lawmakers to participate in panel discussions on environmental policy. After one such discussion, Steinberg said he still hoped to see the proposal approved before the end of the month.
“Every day that passes makes me more nervous,” he said. “The opposition has done a tremendously effective job of scaring the hell out of people and that’s where a lot of legislators are. They’re hearing from their constituents a lot of bullshit. You can quote me on that.”
On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, also took part in a panel discussion during the summit. Afterwards, Hwang said he worried about the message sent by convening a special session just prior to the start of the legislature’s 2024 session on Feb. 7.
“They would open themselves up to a lot of scrutiny, just days away from session,” Hwang said, adding that legislation passed in special sessions do not receive public hearings. “It usurps giving people a voice, especially when you have a policy that impacts all Connecticut residents.”
