Due to storm recovery efforts, Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) delayed until 2024 a vote on a PRI-opposed proposal requiring that 82% of new vehicles sold in the state be zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) by 2032. As a result of the delay, the proposal cannot be implemented until 2028 at the earliest.

Click here to submit a comment to Maine’s DEP opposing the proposal.

Drafted in response to a citizen petition from an environmental group, the rule aims to tighten emissions standards for new passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles sold in Maine, aligning the state with California’s latest clean car rules, which the state has historically followed.

PRI believes that Mainers, not the government, should decide what vehicles are best for them and their families. The automotive industry is embracing new technology to make cars cleaner and more efficient, which includes hydrogen, new synthetic fuels, alternative fuels and improvements to the internal combustion engine. The government should allow the market to continue to innovate all forms of technology that significantly reduce vehicle emissions.

For more information, contact Kiley Chapley at kileyc@sema.org.