California voters reject tax that would have funded electric vehicles
Prop 30 would have levied a 1.75% tax on Californians making more than $2 million a year
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California voters on Tuesday rejected a tax increase that would have gone toward funding more electric vehicles for the state’s ambitious climate goals.
The measure, Prop 30, would have levied a 1.75% tax on Californians making more than $2 million a year — fewer than 43,000 taxpayers in a state of nearly 40 million people. Even without that, California's highest earners pay the highest income tax in the country, at more than 13%.
Electric cars are parked at a charging station in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File / AP Newsroom)
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom had campaigned against the measure, branding it a taxpayer-funded giveaway to rideshare companies. Under California law, rideshare companies must ensure nearly all trips booked through their services are zero-emission by 2030. The rideshare company Lyft supplied most of the "yes" campaign's funding.
"California voters decisively rejected this poorly crafted and unnecessary tax hike," the "Vote No On Prop 30" campaign said in a statement. "The fact is Proposition 30 was a solution to an issue the state is already addressing."
Most of the money would have gone to programs that help people buy electric cars or install more chargers. One-fifth of the money would have gone toward boosting resources for fighting wildfires, another major source of emissions in the state.
The "yes" campaign said Prop 30 would have created a "healthier, safer future for our state and our families — one with less air pollution, fewer catastrophic wildfires and an opportunity to save our state from some of the most devastating impacts of climate change."
Last year, Newsom directed California air regulators to adopt a ban on the sale of new cars running solely on gasoline starting in 2035. Car companies would have to sell cars powered by hydrogen, batteries, or hybrids that run on a gas-battery combo. People could still drive their gas-powered cars or buy used ones.
A car is parked at an electric charging station in San Francisco, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. (AP / AP Newsroom)
Newsom noted his administration has already dedicated $10 billion over the next six years to boost electric transportation.
Backers of the measure, including most major environmental groups, said the state needs a dedicated, robust source of funding to set up infrastructure that can handle more plug-in cars and to help Californians of all income levels to buy them.
This year, about 18% of new car sales have been for fully electric or hybrid cars, according to Newsom's office. That will have to double by 2026 to meet new state mandates for car sales.
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By 2045, the state wants to be "carbon neutral," which will require a massive reduction in emissions from vehicles and other sources, as well as the buildup of technologies that can capture carbon as it's emitted or pull it from the air, then store it underground.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.