Connecticut Senator Will Haskell believes his proposed bill that would overturn the state’s ‘franchise law’ and allow Tesla and other EV manufacturers to sell their cars directly to consumers will once again fail to become law.
After passing through the Transportation Committee in March, the proposed bill was supposed to be presented to the House this month, but with just three days left in the legislative session, Haskell does not see the bill passing this year.
Unlike some of the previous attempts, this will not be due to a lack of support for the bill but due to a lack of time as Haskell says there are still more than 100 bills to consider.
However, the Democratic Senator remains optimistic it will happen in the future.
“At every turn, we had Republican supporters saying, ‘What do we have to do to get this over the finish line? I know we’ll get it done sometime, I just don’t think we’ll get it done this year,” Haskell told CT Insider.
Unsurprisingly, one of the bill’s main critics have been car dealerships, which say the proposed model would harm consumer interests, along with the 14,000 jobs they provide state residents.
Another vocal opponent has been Sen. Julie Kushner, who has strong ties to the United Auto Workers (UAW) union having previously served as a regional director.
Her bias shone through last month when she voiced her opposition to the bill, saying it would benefit Tesla CEO Elon Musk and calling him the “ruler of the world.”
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