Special message from House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham

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In the face of widespread power outages last week, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) postponed its December 21 vote to implement the ?California Rule? mandating sales of electric vehicles (EVs). ?Then came news that the BEP reopened the public comment period until February 5, 2024.

Now the Portland Press Herald is reporting that the BEP ?will ask lawmakers to revise state law to authorize lawmakers, not state agencies, to adopt and enforce standards that meet the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act.?

Given that Democrat leaders already denied this option last month House Republicans are encouraged that the BEP is calling for what we have said all along: that unelected bureaucrats should not be allowed to make decisions of this magnitude.

Two things had to happen for this development to occur:

• Public input ? Over 1,000 people responded to the Republican call for public testimony. Eighty-one percent opposed a rule that will mandate sales of electric vehicles and ultimately eliminate gas powered vehicles.
• State Emergency - Even with overwhelming public opposition to this anti-consumer mandate, it still took a major storm where 400,000 Mainers lost power right before the BEP vote to formally adopt the rule.

The fact that Maine is this close to adopting a mandate that will devastate the Maine economy and reduce our quality of life is deeply troubling.

It speaks to how important an informed, engaged public is. House Republicans will continue to oppose this drastic mandate against freedom and consumer choice. We need your continued involvement in 2024. ?

Thank you to all who submitted comment to help us get to this point. Stay tuned for updates as this electric vehicle mandate proposal makes its way into the New Year.

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Sincerely,

Billy Bob Faulkingham
House Republican Leader