Electric vehicles are coming to Minnesota. Republicans and Democrats have very different ideas on [View all]

[TexasTowelie]

Electric vehicles are coming to Minnesota. Republicans and Democrats have very different ideas on how state government should respond.


Electric vehicles make up a tiny fraction of cars in Minnesota. But that is going to change.

Auto manufacturers are increasingly focused on EVs over gas-powered cars, while state and federal lawmakers across the U.S. are promoting EVs as part of a push to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector.

In Minnesota, lawmakers are debating a host of changes to state law to prepare for the rise of electric vehicles. But so far in 2021, Republicans who control the Minnesota Senate and Democrats who have a majority in the House have found little common ground on how the state should react to the burgeoning industry.

The GOP has focused on making EV owners pay a substitute fee in place of Minnesota’s gas tax, which pays for road construction; they also want to remove Gov. Tim Walz’s power to set new auto emission standards. DFLers have proposed rebates for electric cars, and hope to prod state government to buy more EVs, fund the purchase of electric buses in the Twin Cities and to put charging stations in state parks.

Read more: https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2021/03/electric-vehicles-are-coming-to-minnesota-republicans-and-democrats-have-very-different-ideas-on-how-state-government-should-respond/