On Tuesday, February 20 House Democrats were planning to pass legislation (HB 1634) to force the Illinois EPA to adopt California emission standards to eliminate the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 and surrender state sovereignty to California bureaucrats instead of Illinois lawmakers. State Representative Charlie Meier (R-Okawville) opposes the legislation and released the following statement:
“This bill goes to show how extreme and out of touch some lawmakers have become in Illinois,” said Rep. Meier. “Why in the heck would we give the State of California the ability to control our vehicle emissions standards? This bill would stop the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles for electric cars, trucks, and semis. I will be voting against this bill in the House of Representatives.”
This California-born bill will regulate our trucking industry and all vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel fuel. This bill gives California lawmakers, regulators, and their governor the right to change Illinois emissions laws without input from Illinois elected officials.
I’m not sure about other Illinoisans but I am not ready to become a secondhand citizen of California with no voting rights. This bill would double the price of trucks, semis, and increase the costs of all electric vehicles.
The cost to install one charging station for semi-trucks would cost $112,000 and the cost to run transmission lines to a charging station like this can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000, and that’s if there is even enough energy on the power grid to charge these electric vehicle batteries.
The batteries needed to power a semi weighs 20,000 lbs., therefore reducing load capacity which will put 34% more semis on our roads that are in constant need of maintenance.
All these extra costs will greatly increase the consumer’s cost of everything, especially groceries. I like California grapes and strawberries when they’re in season, but not this California bill.”
The House Energy & Environment Committee ended up postponing the hearing on this legislation (HB 1634). The public may submit their opposition to this bill by visiting https://my.ilga.gov/Hearing/HearingDetail/20573.