Push to mandate 100% electric cars, trucks by 2035 on hold for two years

Blaming Trump, Dem leadership grudgingly approved pause on truck mandates

by Guy Page

Governor Phil Scott today issued Executive Order 04-25, directing the Agency of Natural Resources to pause enforcement through December 31, 2026 of a multi-state plan requiring vehicle manufacturers to meet certain electric vehicle (EV) sales targets for passenger cars and medium- and heavy-trucks.

State law and regulation has tied Vermont to California emissions standards banning the sale of new gas or diesel powered vehicles by 2035. On a national level, The U.S. House of Representatives voted May 2 to override the California emissions standards. Other states have pulled out of the car and/or truck zero emissions standards.

About 10% of Vermont registered cars are EVs. The lack of charging stations, cold-weather performance, and the high cost of EVs all are problematic for Vermont, critics say.

Scott – who is driven around Vermont in a state-owned electric-powered pickup truck – said he still wants Vermont to drive electric.

“I continue to believe we should be incentivizing Vermonters to transition to cleaner energy options like electric vehicles. However, we have to be realistic about a pace that’s achievable. It’s clear we don’t have anywhere near enough charging infrastructure and insufficient technological advances in heavy-duty vehicles to meet current goals,” said Governor Scott. “We have much more work to do, in order make it more convenient, faster, and more affordable to buy, maintain and charge EV’s. When we do, it’s more likely everyday Vermonters will make the switch.”

Scott said he remains committed to addressing climate change, including advocating for more charging infrastructure, which is key to supporting Vermonters in making EVs viable and reducing transportation emissions. When it comes to transitioning to a low-carbon future, mandates are not going to be the total answer.  Using common sense and incentivizing technological advancements is necessary to overall success and this compliance flexibility is intended to reflect this reality.

Besides the December 31 2026 deadline (which may be extended, per the EO), today’s executive order provides ‘enforcement discretion’ and requires ANR to seek information from manufacturers on increased deployment of charging infrastructure and marketing efforts.

No penalties – The Secretary of ANR shall exercise compliance flexibility and enforcement discretion by declining to pursue penalties associated with any ZEV delivery shortfalls for the duration of this order. To be eligible for compliance relief, manufacturers must not impose ZEV sales ratios on dealerships in Vermont and must fulfill in a timely manner all requests for vehicles to dealerships seeking those vehicles. 

Manufacturer updates – ANR shall require each manufacturer to provide to the Secretary, by July 1, 2025 and July 1, 2026, reports detailing efforts to promote and market ZEVs such as increasing deployment of charging infrastructure including investments in fast charging, level 2 charging and home charging options; educating and training dealerships including sales and service staff on ZEVs; and providing ZEVs for ride and drive events, the EO states.

In a letter sent to Scott last week, Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski, Senate Natural Resources and Energy Chair Anne Watson, and House Energy and Digital Technology Chair Kathleen James (all Democrats) grudgingly conceded a pause, but only on the Clean Trucks rule.

“We’ve carefully looked into the facts and weighed public feedback. With the session winding down, we thought it would be important to lay out our position. At this time, we do not believe a delay is necessary, and our strong preference is to stay the course. But given the uncertain national and federal landscape — with the Trump administration enacting tariffs and threatening to revoke California’s Clean Air Act waiver entirely — we also understand the need to proceed with caution, even when rolling out a carefully crafted rule like ACT. 

“ANR has the authority to exercise ACT enforcement discretion at any time. The agency does not require legislative action nor legislative permission to follow the lead of other states, including Massachusetts and Maryland, that recently have announced simple and flexible ACT compliance delays. If you feel you should use your existing executive power to delay enforcement, we would recommend that you delay only the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, and by no more than one year (for model year 2026).” 

Teslarati.com photo of Gov. Scott driving a Ford Lightning from screenshot from Mychamplainvalley.com news report.