While some U.S. states are actively seeking to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles, with California and New York already moving to ban them by 2035, several Wyoming lawmakers have proposed banning the sale of electric vehicles instead.
Introduced on Jan 13, Bill SJ0004 seeks to phase out the sale of new EVs in Wyoming by 2035, citing the importance of the oil and natural gas industry to the state, as well as the current lack of adequate charging infrastructure and the cost to build it, and the unsuitability of EVs on the state’s long stretches of highway.
The bill also describes the proliferation of EVs at the expense of gas-powered vehicles as having a negative impact on both the economies of Wyoming and the U.S.
It is sponsored by state Senators Jim Anderson, Brian Boner, Ed Cooper, and Dan Dockstader, and Representatives Donald Burkhart, Jr., and Bill Henderson.
Should the bill pass into law, there won’t necessarily be a ban on sale of EVs in Wyoming, as one of the clauses states the legislature would only encourage the ban and express it as a goal. This points to the bill being more of a political stunt rather than a serious attempt to ban EV sales in the state. There’s even a clause that the bill, should it pass, would need to be sent to the president of the U.S., the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the governor of California.
Even if Wyoming were to introduce a ban on the sale of EVs, new vehicles devoid of electrification may be hard to come by in the ensuing decades. The whole of the E.U. is moving to ban the sale of light vehicles equipped with an internal-combustion engine by 2035, hybrids included. Many automakers, including GM, are also looking to phase out internal-combustion engines in light vehicles by the same 2035 deadline.
