Delaware GOP files complaint against Delaware's electric vehicle mandate

Molly McVety, Delaware News Journal
Updated ·1 min read
An electric car charges at Porter Nissan in Newark in 2013. Northern Delaware in November was designated an electric vehicle corridor by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
An electric car charges at Porter Nissan in Newark in 2013. Northern Delaware in November was designated an electric vehicle corridor by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Members of the Delaware GOP have filed a complaint against the state's environmental agency over the recently approved electric vehicle mandate.

In November, Shawn Garvin, secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, approved the Advance Clean Car II Act, which requires automobile manufacturers to deliver an increased percentage of new zero-emission vehicles to Delaware each year.

Starting in model year 2027, 43% of new cars and trucks sent to Delaware must be zero-emission vehicles. This percentage will gradually increase to 82% by 2032. The mandate is set to expire by model year 2033.

Delaware GOP Chair Julianne Murray is acting as the lead attorney on the suit. The complaint claims that DNREC violated administrative procedures by not filling out a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, which requires agencies to consider how the proposed regulation would impact individuals and small businesses.

More: Car dealers worry about the low demand for electric vehicles in Delaware

DNREC claimed an exemption on this requirement, stating that because the regulation would put the onus on automobile manufacturers, it would not likely impose additional costs or burdens on individuals or small businesses. Murray disagrees and is hoping the court will require DNREC to restart the regulatory process with the analysis.

The complaint was filed in Sussex County Superior Court last week. The parties still need to be served before the case is put in motion.

The complaint was filed on behalf of four plaintiffs, including state Reps. Michael Ramone and Richard Collins, who are joining the suit as small-business owners. Also included are a Sussex County resident who lives in an apartment complex with no charging stations and an owner of an automobile repair shop in Sussex County.

Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at mmcvety@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware GOP files complaint against DNREC over clean car regulations