Washington Will Ban New Gas-Powered Vehicle Sales After 2030

If certain criteria is met, the state of Washington will make it illegal to sell any new gas-powered vehicle in the state beginning in 2030. And that ban would include an attempt to buy a gas-powered ride from another state to try and register it here, that won't happen either.

If Gov. Jay Inslee signs the legislation, which he is expected to do, Washington's Clean Cars 2030 initiative would ambitiously best California and Massachusetts by five years in being the first state in the nation to put a statewide ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles.

The bill passed 25-23 in the state Senate and the yeas carried the day in the state House 54-43. Since the bill was passed by both houses of the legislature, and not by an executive order from the governor, it will be much more difficult to undo the signed law down the line if a different administration has an alternate vision.

The catch is the state must approve a tax on vehicle miles traveled which would help finance new transportation infrastructure around the state. This all could come in 2030, but the actual date will be set by the percentage of vehicles in the state that pay for road use through vehicle miles traveled instead of by taxes on gasoline.

Get our free mobile app

Under the stipulations of the bill, the sale. purchase or registration of non-electric vehicles would be banned from model year 2030 and later, and would include vehicles bought in another sate and brought into Washington. Emergency vehicles are not targeted. Also, used gasoline vehicles will still be available until the 2040s.

In Washington and across America by 2030, the plan is to have public charging points available everywhere and fast public charging will be as common as it is now to use gas stations.