Heather Curtis

WMAL.com

A program that would give thousands of dollars in rebates to Virginians who get electric vehicles may sound like a good way to entice people to buy or lease them, but there’s a problem. Virginia’s general assembly passed legislation to approve the rebate program earlier this year, but the state budget didn’t include any money to pay for it.

“I’m not sure structurally how the funding piece of this would come about,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chair Jeff McKay said at a meeting of the board’s legislative committee last Tuesday.

The program that starts next year would give $2,500 rebates to people who buy or lease new vehicles with a base price of $55,000 or less, or used vehicles with a base price of $25,000 or less. People who make 300% or less than the federal poverty level would get another $2,000 rebate on top of the initial one.

McKay is concerned that the income limit for the additional refund would disproportionately negatively impact people in Fairfax County and the rest of Northern Virginia where the cost of living is higher than other areas of the state, so people’s dollars are stretched thinner. 

“This is really important from an equity standpoint as more and more used EVs are finding their ways into the marketplace, and those can be affordable vehicles with this type of rebate programs for people who would like to purchase them,” McKay said. 

Supervisor James Walkinshaw suggested the board reach out to Loudoun County Del. David Reid – who introduced the legislation –  to pass new legislation to amend the income limit for the additional refund. 

Walkinshaw also suggested asking a member of their delegation to sponsor legislation.

McKay said he was happy with the board doing both.

Editor’s note: Supervisor Walkinshaw’s first name has been corrected to James, instead of Jim in the original version.

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