This week, Gov. Jay Inslee announced $45 million in subsidies through a Department of Commerce grant program for families deemed “low-income” to purchase an EV
TJ Martinell
The Center Square Washington
One strategy for state officials looking to transition Washington’s transportation sector to electric vehicles is by subsidizing them with taxpayer dollars.
This week, Gov. Jay Inslee announced $45 million in subsidies through a Department of Commerce grant program for families deemed “low-income” to purchase an EV.
“Washingtonians really get it when it comes to electric vehicles,” Inslee said at a Wednesday news conference in Tukwila.
The program provides up to $9,000 for families to lease an EV, or $5,000 to purchase one. The grant program allows them to purchase either new or used EVs. The funding would be available to those who make 300% of the federal poverty level or less.
Inslee described it as a way to “democratize EVs. We’re not stopping here. We want to help the entire ecosystem, if you will, of electrifying our transportation fleet. We expect there are going to be a lot of folks that are going to be enjoying this benefit.”
Subsidies has been one recommendation made in the Electric Vehicle Coordinating Council’s transportation electrification strategy, in which residents would receive public dollars in exchange for giving up a fossil fuel vehicle to purchase an EV.
The council has recently noted that EV sales, while increasing, aren’t as a high as they could be due to a lack of charging ports around the state. The state is looking to double the number of public charging ports through revenue from the Climate Commitment Act, which makes up 84% of all funding for the state’s EV investments.
Speaking at Wednesday’s press conference, Department of Commerce Director Mike Fong described the grant program as a “first in the nation” by allowing people to lease, rather than buy, an EV.
“We are always excited in Washington to be the first in the nation at innovating, particularly in equity and on climate change, and we are going to be able to do that with this program,” he said.
The program has drawn criticism, including from Washington Policy Center Environmental Director Todd Myers. In a blog post, he argued that the subsidies won’t help reduce carbon emissions and is a waste of taxpayer money better spent on other environmental priorities, such as salmon recovery.
“This is one more example of how wasteful and ineffective Washington’s climate policy is,” he wrote. “It also reveals the disingenuousness of claiming that climate change is an ‘existential crisis’ while wasting tens of millions of dollars on projects that do nothing to address that crisis.”
The grant funds will be available to qualifying residents in August.
This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.
Also read:
- WSDOT travel charts are key to Memorial Day weekend adventuresMemorial Day weekend is often the unofficial start of summer and planning ahead now is a great jumpstart to holiday travels.
- Construction beginning on new roundabout at intersection of NE 119th Street and NE 152nd AvenueConstruction is beginning to convert the intersection of Northeast 119th Street and Northeast 152nd Avenue to a single-lane roundabout.
- Three weeks of night time delays on SR 14 and Lieser Road overpass in VancouverTravelers who use State Route 14 through Vancouver in southern Clark County, should plan ahead for three weeks of overnight closures.
- National and local transit ridership down significantly feds reportThe US Census Bureau reports that people using mass transit to commute to work remains 38 percent below pre pandemic levels, particularly evident in the Portland metro area, challenging proposed transit expansion plans despite persistent traffic congestion concerns.
- Opinion: The Interstate Bridge replacement is two years behind scheduleJoe Cortright of the City Observatory reports that the Interstate Bridge project’s Draft SEIS was supposed to be complete in December 2022 — It now won’t be done before December 2024.
“Washingtonians really get it when it comes to electric vehicles,” Inslee said…” “In the shorts”, he said, under his breath.