Dems Bring the Case for Prop. 30 to Santa Barbara
If Passed, Would Put About $3 Billion Annually Toward Electric Vehicle Purchases and Charging Stations
If Prop. 30 were to pass, electric-vehicle charging stations would become as common as gas pumps, said Bill Baker, who manages Local 413 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. And California will need them. In August, the state required that by 2035 all new light cars and trucks sold in California be zero-emission ones, and, if Prop. 30 passes on November 8, it would raise $3 billion or more annually for the next 20 years to help residents pay for new zero-emission vehicles and to help fund the building of charging stations at apartment buildings, homes, and public places. The other proviso in Prop. 30 is that $700 million-$1 billion of the money raised per year would go to fight wildfires.
Baker was joined by County Supervisor Das Williams and several others at De la Guerra Plaza on Thursday to prompt the public to vote for Prop. 30. “We really cannot be serious about fighting climate change without electrifying our state with all due speed. Proposition 30 would do that,” Williams said. He noted that the barrier to electric vehicles for many households are the upfront costs and the necessity of a charging station at their home. Speaking of the skyrocketing price of gas, Williams said, “What kills me is knowing that so many people could have resistance to this inflation by getting into an electric vehicle.”
Michael Chiacos, the director of climate policy for the Community Environmental Council, noted that the 20-year span for Prop. 30 would be a boon. “The start-and-stop nature of state programs has hindered our ability to make electric vehicles available for all,” he said. It would also accelerate the transition to heavy-duty trucks, he said: “We need electric vehicles for working people, not just wealthy residents.”
