According to Verge, the Washington State lawmakers have voted in favor of Clean Cars 2030, a bill amendment passed Thursday that would require all new cars sold in the state from the 2030 model year onward to be all-electric.
The amendment aims to prohibit the sales of new gas cars by 2030, and will also cover vehicles purchased in other states and later imported to Washington.
Washington is a bit late to the party — California, New Jersey, and even Massachusetts have already announced plans and legislation to ban the sales of new gas cars by 2035, but Washington wants to show them up and effect a ban earlier than any other state in the U.S.
As of this writing, the amendment currently awaits signing by Washington governor Jay Inslee. In addition, the ban is contingent on the state of Washington approving a tax on miles traveled, which will help fund investment into the transportation and charging infrastructure needed to stave off gas guzzlers.
If signed, Washington will become the first state to implement a ban on gas-powered cars through a vote and not an executive order, which also makes it much harder for future government to reverse or adjust it.
Washington’s plans also fall right in line with President Joe Biden’s goals of accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the country.
All new cars sold through 2030 needing to be electric is good news for companies like Tesla with established footholds in the EV space, and even for companies like Volvo and Bentley that plan on switching to all-electric catalogs by 2030.
