The Legislature is considering a bill that would give state lawmakers the final say on the Maine Board of Environmental Protection’s (BEP) controversial electric vehicle (EV) mandate, as well as on similar rules going forward.
Introduced by Rep. Michael Soboleski (R-Phillips), LD 2261 would designate all BEP rulemaking related to vehicle emissions standards as major substantive, thereby subjecting it to legislative review.
Under the Maine Administrative Procedures Act, agency rulemaking falls into one of two categories: routine technical or major substantive.
While routine technical rulemaking occurs entirely within a department, major substantive rules are subject to the legislative review process, as described under 5 M.R.S. §8072.
Agency rule changes are only categorized as major substantive if lawmakers have passed legislation explicitly deeming them to be.
Last year, a citizen petition initiated by the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) was submitted to Maine BEP asking for “the requirements of the California Advanced Clean Cars II” to be incorporated into Maine’s existing regulatory code.
Although only 150 people Maine residents signed the petition, it nonetheless set in motion a bureaucratic process that may allow the Mills Administration to impose sweeping controls on what kinds of vehicles can be sold in Maine, potentially without the approval of Maine’s elected lawmakers.
Adoption of these new regulations would essentially result in the state phasing out the sale of traditional gas-powered cars and trucks in favor of EVs over the course of the next few years.
In the current form, this mandate would require that 51 percent of new car sales in Maine be comprised of EVs by model year 2028 and 82 percent by model year 2032. The rule would force auto dealers to forgo sales on gas-powered vehicles unless sales for EVs increased substantially over the level of demand seen in recent years.
[RELATED: Maine Considering California-style Rules to Limit Sales of Gas-Powered Cars and Trucks]
Although Maine law used to require under 38 M.R.S. § 585-D that rule changes related to vehicle emissions standards — such as the EV mandate currently under consideration by the Board — be categorized as major substantive, lawmakers repealed that provision in 2005.
With this portion of the law no longer on the books, the controversial EV mandate was automatically categorized as routine technical when it was first taken up by the BEP.
[RELATED: Electric Vehicle Mandate Slated for March Hearing as Mills Touts EV Charger Investments]
If lawmakers pass Rep. Soboleski’s LD 2261, however, this and other emissions-related rules would be classified as major substantive, thus ensuring that these kind of changes would again be subjected legislative oversight.
In addition to explicitly including the EV mandate — more formally referred to as the Advanced Clean Cars II program — LD 2261 is also written to be more broadly retroactive, stretching back to May 22, 2023.
Click Here to Read the Full Text of LD 2261
“In the December 7, 2023 Board of Environmental Protection meeting, which I attended,” Soboleski told the Maine Wire, “the board members announced they would be including in their Annual Report a recommendation that the Legislature make vehicle emissions rules “Chapter 127-A: Advanced Clean Cars II Program” and “Chapter 128: Advanced Clean Trucks Program” Major Substantive rules which will take them out of the purview of the BEP and put them before the Legislature for vote.”
“My bill was brought forward as a result of that recommendation,” said Soboleski.
“As an ‘After Deadline’ Legislative Request the bill was required to be approved by the ten member Legislative Council,” Soboleski explained. “My first attempt failed by a vote of 5-4 (6 votes are needed for approval), on the second attempt it passed (6-3) with the vote of Senate President Jackson and Speaker Talbot-Ross. It has since been referenced to the Environment and Natural Resource (ENR) committee which I am a member of.”
“Moving forward I anticipate a fight from Environmentalists, the democrats on the ENR committee, and Environmental lobbyists,” Soboleski said. “I’m not opposed to electric vehicles, if it works for your lifestyle, buy one. But, using Legislation to force New Vehicle Dealers to alter their inventories and stock product people will not and cannot afford to buy is destructive to our economy, taxing on our electrical grid, and unrealistic.”
“In an incredible show of Bi-Partisan support Senate President Jackson and House Speaker Talbot-Ross Co-Sponsored the bill so I have high hopes,” said Soboleski.
“Maine needs to slow down the transition and stop forcing the common person into buying EVs,” Soboleski concluded.
Earlier this month, a group of Republican lawmakers in the Senate attempted to block confirmation of the ENR Committee’s appointments to the BEP in response to the lack of oversight currently in place for vehicle emissions rulemaking.
This effort was ultimately unsuccessful, however, as many GOP lawmakers declined to support the blockade in full, only going as far as voting in favor of delaying the confirmation until a later date.
By the end of the session, all three of the nominees had been confirmed by a vote of 6 to 26.
Voting against these nominations were: Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin), Sen. Stacey Guerin (R-Penobscot), Sen. Matt Harrington (R-York), Sen. Lisa Keim (R-Oxford), Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook), and Sen. Jeff Timberlake (R-Androscoggin).
[RELATED: Moderate Republicans Cave Over BEP Nominations Despite Fight Against Controversial EV Mandates]
“One statutory responsibility of the Board of Environmental Protection is to report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the environmental laws of the State and any recommendations for amending those laws or the laws governing the Board,” Maine BEP Executive Analyst William F. Hinkel told the Maine Wire.
“In Section III(G) of the Board’s 2023 Report to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (available here), it provided recommendations that might potentially benefit from legislative review,” Hinkel said.
“One of those recommendations is to consider revising 38 M.R.S. § 585-D to require that future rulemaking actions regarding new motor vehicle emission standards be categorized as major substantive rulemaking rather than routine technical rulemaking,” said Hinkel.
Despite this recommendation and the pending legislation, Hinkel explained that the BEP’s consideration of the EV mandate is still ongoing, and the Board intends to move forward with its rulemaking on the proposal later this month.
“The Board does not participate in legislative proceedings or testify or comment on pending legislation,” Hinkel continued. “Currently, the proposed Chapter 127-A rule is an active routine technical rulemaking action pending before the Board.”
According to Hinkel, “the Board has scheduled further consideration of the proposed Advanced Clean Cars II Program rule during its meeting on March 20, 2024, the agenda for which is available here.”
The BEP’s March 20 meeting will take place in the Augusta Civic Center beginning at 9am and can be viewed live online via Zoom.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="26469 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=26469">4 Comments
If this mess Mills-stone wants passes, good luck enforcing it.
Especially now that the Cumberland County DA won’t prosecute traffic violations.
Lower income and middle income people and families can kiss owning a vehicle goodbye if the state becomes as tyrannical as they seem to want and the Mills-stone plan does happen.
Augusta is a joke that hates their citizens.
I don’t have the words to describe what utter lunacy this EV issue is….and the total lunatics who want to put it into force. They all suck.
Less government equals a better quaity of life and Mills is too stupid to figure this out.