Virginia’s EV Rebate Program Lacks Funding
Despite higher costs than cars powered by gas, the number of Virginians registering electric vehicles with the DMV has risen significantly in the last year.
A law passed earlier this year set up a program to offer rebates to Virginians who purchase electric vehicles, but the program currently lacks funding.
The House of Delegates approved funding for the rebate program, but a conference committee removed the funds from the final state budget.
The Commonwealth is accelerating toward a clean energy future, with more and more Virginians choosing electric vehicles.
Electric vehicle registrations in Virginia increased by 44% between June 2020 and June 2021, according to data from the state Department of Motor Vehicles. That statistic comes after a General Assembly session earlier this year that made a priority of incentivizing the use of electric vehicles. Among the most consequential legislation was HB 1965, which requires that a certain percentage of all vehicles sold in the state be either electric or hybrid by 2025. The legislature also asked the State Corporation Commission to conduct a study on how the state can speed up transportation electrification, which will be key in implementing clean transportation policy during future sessions.
Another key bill passed by the General Assembly this year offers Virginians who purchase new or used electric vehicles a $2,500 rebate. Prioritizing equity, the bill includes language permitting an enhanced rebate of an additional $2,000 for those whose household income is less than 300% of current poverty guidelines. The bill would serve as a crucial incentive in promoting the use of electric vehicles in the state, but the General Assembly passed it without including any funding in the budget for the program.
The Virginia Department of Energy conducted a study in 2020 that found a rebate program for electric vehicles could end up costing the state $43 million. But during a legislative session in which it was impossible for masked legislators to ignore the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, that sum was too high to consider. Instead, the patron of the EV rebate bill asked for $5 million in funding through the state budget. This amount was initially approved by the House of Delegates, but a conference committee removed funding for the rebate program from the final budget, ultimately leaving the program entirely unfunded.
In order to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector — which account for nearly half of total carbon emissions in the state — it’s essential that the General Assembly include a provision in the next biennial budget to fund the electric vehicle rebate program. Aside from improving the quality of air in the state, funding these rebates would help Virginians afford electric vehicles, which are still more costly than gas powered cars largely on account of battery prices.
Electric vehicle rebates aren’t the only transportation electrification effort that went unfunded during the 2021 General Assembly session. Another law passed earlier this year set up a fund to replace diesel school buses with new electric buses, but the law also lacks a funding mechanism. The number of bills that seek to electrify Virginia’s transportation sector that emerged from this year’s legislative session is encouraging, but without funding mechanisms, the efforts are nothing but words on paper. To deliver tangible clean energy policy for Virginians, the General Assembly should fund the electric vehicle rebate program and other programs that promote transportation electrification.