New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed S.2758/A.4302 into law late yesterday. The measure requires all sales and leases of new passenger cars, trucks, off-road vehicles and equipment to be zero-emission by 2035.
The legislation also notes sales and leases of new medium and heavy-duty vehicles will need to be zero-emission by 2045.
New York is the second state to make this move after California passed legislation last year. Massachusetts is aiming to pass similar legislation later this year. In Canada, similar legislation has been at both the federal level and provincially in Quebec and British Columbia.
In addition to the legislative changes, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will develop a zero-emission vehicle market development strategy by January 31, 2023. The legislation requires the state to identify near-term actions and investment strategies to support the switch to zero-emission vehicles, reports Bloomberg.
The governor also announced she directed the Department of Environmental Conservation to release regulations to reduce air pollution from trucks. The regulation will require truck manufacturers to transition to zero-emission vehicles. Starting in 2025, truck manufactures will need to hit specific targets of zero-emission truck sales.
