Two more New Jersey lawmakers this week called for Gov. Phil Murphy to put a stop to a proposed mandate that would ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, adding to the more than 20 legislators on both sides of the aisle who have made similar recommendations in public comments or in the media.
Assemblywomen Kim Eulner and Marilyn Piperno (R-11) said in a statement that New Jersey should not adopt the Advanced Clean Car II rule, particularly following the Orsted’s cancellation of the Ocean 1 and Ocean 2 offshore wind projects this week.
“When the Legislature reconvenes this month, priority number one should be initiating a moratorium on Murphy’s costly energy mandates starting with building electrification and electric vehicles,” Eulner and Piperno said.
NJBIA has vocally opposed the adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II rule, as it will have numerous negative short-term and long-term economic impacts on many New Jersey residents, including an increasing number of people who will no longer be able to afford to drive.
NJBIA has also maintained that highway and local infrastructure will not be in place for the rule to work, the grid will not be able to handle the demand of an all-electrification policy in New Jersey and that consumers should have freedom of choice.
And as reported in Politico last week, Democrats who are considered “safe” in this year’s legislative elections also sent letters to DEP with a wide range of messaging ranging from either stopping or backing off the rule until more research on impacts is done.
In September, Vin Gopal, a Democratic senator from District 11 with a history of support for environmental protections in New Jersey, warned of the unintended consequences of Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed ban of the sale of new gas cars in the state by 2035 in an Asbury Park Press OpEd.
As part of its campaign to stop the state’s ban of new gas cars, more than 4,000 New Jersey residents have sent letters to Trenton lawmakers asking them to step in, with thousands more stressing their opposition to the proposed rule on NJBIA Facebook pages.
In addition to nearly 100 business and labor groups opposing the rule, John Harmon, CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, said the ACCII rule amounts to a “hefty transportation tax” on communities and businesses of colors in a Mosaic OpEd earlier this month.
