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California Lawmaker Drops Electric Vehicle Bill

Automakers characterized the legislation as a giveaway to Tesla Motors, the largest seller of electric vehicles last year.

Electric Car Charger Leaf Wiki 57b5bfc2cd52f
Wikimedia

A California lawmaker says she's giving up on her proposal to require that 15 percent of new cars be emission free by 2025.

A spokeswoman for Democratic Assemblywoman Autumn Burke of Los Angeles says the measure ran into steeper opposition than she expected.

The spokeswoman, Allison Ruff, says the opposition came "from a variety of groups including the Western States Petroleum Association," which represents oil companies.

Burke announced her proposal last week, saying California's existing zero-emission-vehicle mandates were too weak to require significant new investments by automakers. AB1108 would have made plug-in hybrid vehicles, which include a gas engine, ineligible to comply with the mandate.

Automakers characterized the legislation as a giveaway to Tesla Motors, the largest seller of electric vehicles last year.

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