Oregon may follow California’s plan to phase out gas-powered vehicle sales, lawmakers say

Oregon may soon be taking another step toward its goal of zero-emission vehicles, the governor’s office said Friday.

Following the Thursday announcement that California will ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035, and Washington plans to do the same, a spokesperson for Gov. Kate Brown’s office said Oregon is already in the process of developing similar rules.

Charles Boyle, a spokesperson for Brown, said the state Department of Environmental Quality will meet next week to discuss the proposed “Advanced Clean Cars II” rule, which would require car manufacturers to increase the production and sale of electric cars and trucks and phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.

And Oregon’s DEQ issued its own statement on Thursday, acknowledging its own plans to restrict gas-powered vehicles.

Brown has laid out some ambitious climate goals, and the state has taken some steps toward increasing electric vehicle infrastructure already, such as a long-term plan to build electric vehicle charging stations in rural areas of the state, and allowing electric vehicle rebates for used car sales. But state data shows that Oregon has thus far fallen short of the aggressive climate goals Brown has set.

Vee Paykar, the transportation policy manager for the Oregon group Climate Solutions, said California’s passage of clean car rules this week was an important step. She said she hopes Oregon will do the same.

Paykar said initially, climate activists and groups were concerned that car manufacturers would push back against the rules.

But looking at how things played out in California, she said, that hasn’t turned out to be too much of an obstacle. Instead, she said, many manufacturers have announced plans to move toward zero-emissions vehicles.

Investments like ODOT’S $100 million designated for adding public charging stations around the state, and expanding electrical grid capacity are already happening, she said.

“The way we need to expand infrastructure is coming into play,” she said.