Pushing Back Against California, Wyoming Introduces Bill To Ban All New Electric Car Sales By 2035

A new bill introduced in the Wyoming Senate earlier this week proposes to ban the sale of new electric cars by 2035, serving as a direct opposite law, and push back against California’s own law to ban the sale of new gas powered vehicles starting in 2035.

First brought forward as an executive order by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020, then later formally approved last year, the 2035 law aims to drastically cut back emissions in California as well other states that have passed near carbon-copy laws following California, including Washington State, Massachusetts, and New York. With a growing fleet of electric vehicles, along with more renewable energy sources to help power them, the overall goal is to phase out fossil fuel needs in the coming decades due to climate change and environmental issues.

However, in Wyoming, the state heavily relies on natural resource extraction and the energy sector for their economy. The bill is said to “ensure the stability” of its oil and gas industry.

15.7% of Wyoming’s workforce is tied to the energy sector, with a major disruption, such as California’s 2035 electric car phase out plan and lessening their reliance on fossil fuels, standing the severely cripple the state’s economy in the coming years. Even worse for Wyoming, 59% of Wyoming’s in-state revenue comes from fossil fuels, meaning that the 2035 law and ones similar to it can not only sink Wyoming’s economy, they can also potentially halve Wyoming’s sources of income.

With so much on the line for the state, Wyoming state Senator Jim Anderson (R-Casper) introduced Wyoming Senate Joint Resolution 4 this week, calling for all new electric vehicles in Wyoming to be phased out by 2035. The bill specifically notes that Wyoming’s long stretches of highways and only a small number of electric charging stations would make widespread use of the electric car impractical, with the minerals being used in electric car batteries being rare, expensive, and not easy to recycle.

Wyoming SJR 4 also notes the state’s critical reliance on fossil fuels for their economy, noting that “The proliferation of electric vehicles at the expense of gas-powered vehicles will have deleterious impacts on Wyoming’s communities and will be detrimental to Wyoming’s economy and the ability for the country to efficiently engage in commerce. Phasing out the sale of new electric vehicles in Wyoming by 2035 will ensure the stability of Wyoming’s oil and gas industry and will help preserve the country’s critical minerals for vital purposes.”

Finally, the bill takes the rare move to send the bill to lawmakers outside of Wyoming, sending it directly to the President of the United States, each member of Wyoming’s congressional delegation, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the governor of Wyoming Mark Gordon, and the governor of California.

A bill that would ban new electric cars in Wyoming starting in 2035

While the bill is very much binding and, if passed, could really ban the sale of new electric cars by 2035, Senator Anderson, the bill’s author, noted earlier this week that the bill is mostly symbolic.

“We just wanted to make this statement since there seems to be a movement nationwide to eliminate our vehicles,” said Anderson. “I don’t have a problem with electric vehicles at all. I have a problem with somebody saying, ‘Don’t buy any more petroleum vehicles.’.”

Electric car advocates also note that electric car usage is actually growing quickly in the state, with a substantial percentage of cars in areas such as Jackson Hole being electric. The state is also about to start building an electric charging system over the next five years thanks to a $24 million state spending plan, with the focus to be along Interstate highways throughout the state.

“Despite the bill and Wyoming’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels and mineral extraction, it is looking like the state is still following electric vehicle trends, at least to the extent that travelers passing through and locals travelling only short distances can get charged easily,” explained zero emissions vehicle advisor Julia Blum to the Globe on Thursday. “The big thing with this bill is that Wyoming knows that if they don’t diversify they are going to lose a lot of jobs and a big part of their tax base. They don’t want to follow West Virginia or the Eastern part of Kentucky where a reliance on mining led to severe economic issues once demand for coal plummeted in the latter half of the 20th century and coal itself started to dry up.”

“That’s a real future that states like Wyoming and North Dakota face as fossil fuel demands are projected to go down, and this bill is reflective of those fears, as well as dinging California on removing personal choice of what kind of cars they want to buy in the future. Sending the bill to Governor Newsom really highlighted all these issues too. They made sure he saw what the human consequences of his actions would be.”

Wyoming SJR 4 is expected to be heard in the Wyoming state Senate in Cheyenne later this year.