By Joseph Edelen

DOVER — Following Delaware’s adoption of zero-emission vehicle regulations last fall, lawmakers have continued to raise concerns regarding the state’s infrastructure for electric vehicles while emphasizing their desire to let the marketplace dictate itself.

Those issues were raised once again on Thursday, as Kent County-area legislators discussed topics pertinent to the First State’s small business community during the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce’s 22nd annual legislative luncheon.

In front of more than 200 stakeholders at Bally’s Dover Casino Resort, the bipartisan cohort of legislators offered their thoughts on the regulations, as well as other topics like paid leave, education and the state’s ongoing initiatives to kickstart business development.

On the topic of zero-emission vehicles, a common theme amongst Republican members of the General Assembly was letting the legislature have a say in the process, rather than deferring to regulatory procedures by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

“We can dictate, we can mandate, we can have code, however, the market is going to react as the market reacts,” said House Minority Whip Lyndon Yearick, R-Magnolia. “We are not going to stop the invisible hand of capitalism.”

Zero-emission vehicle standards, which are modeled after California’s Advanced Clean Car II regulations, have been a hot topic in state since Gov. John Carney directed DNREC to look into such rules in the First State back in 2022.

Last November, DNREC announced it would move forward and adopt the regulations, which require 43% of new vehicles delivered to the state be zero-emission by model year 2027. The benchmark would increase annually before reaching a 2032 goal of 82%, which is a lower requirement from the previously proposed 100% goal by model year 2035.

Following a series of town halls last spring, Republican legislators introduced efforts to require approval from the General Assembly to adopt the regulations.

House Bill 123, sponsored by House Minority Leader Mike Ramone, R-Newark, was one of those efforts and received passage in the House of Representatives on the final day of the 2023 legislative session.

Though the bill has not yet been considered in the Senate, lawmakers like Sen. Eric Buckson, R-Camden, advocated for the caveat, while emphasizing that opposition does not center on electric vehicles themselves.

“I don’t think anybody is opposed to a portfolio of green energy… I don’t think anybody’s offended by you, an individual next to you, owning an electric vehicle…. We’re offended by the mandate,” Sen. Buckson said.

“Below the canal, we’re outnumbered; there’s a supermajority in the Senate. We can’t move needles without some help from folks like the two (Democratic senators) that are here today, that I respect. We need help and support when it talks to common sense.”

While both Sen. Trey Paradee, D-Dover, and Sen. Kyra Hoffner, D-Smyrna, praised the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment, the lawmakers did not extend their full support of zero-emission vehicle regulations.

“As a new legislator, I don’t like the fact that a mandate came down and told us what to do … 12 years from now,” Sen. Hoffner said. “But it is here, the car makers are making more electric cars. I like the fact that (DNREC) already pulled back a little bit and made it an (82% requirement) and not 100%.

“I just think we should leave it up to the consumer, what they would buy and we should leave many choices for them to choose from.”

After the Biden administration announced new regulations to strengthen limits on tailpipe pollution on Wednesday, Sen. Paradee said he would not be surprised to see DNREC follow suit to embrace hybrid vehicles instead of electric cars.

Further, he questioned the state’s infrastructure to support the regulations, specifically in urban areas like downtown Dover.

“I represent the city of Dover, which by the way, is the economic hub of Kent County, and I would estimate that probably up to 40% of the residents in my district either live in apartments, townhouses, park on city streets; places where you can’t necessarily consistently have a place to plug in your vehicle,” Sen. Paradee said.

“Until we’re able to resolve some of these issues, I am not on board with the mandate as it’s currently written.”

The two legislative proposals that seek to address the regulations – House Bill 123 and Senate Bill 96 – both await further consideration in the Senate Environment, Energy and Transportation Committee.