Tulsa, OK - Today, the Sierra Club filed a state lawsuit in Oklahoma, challenging the legislature’s passage of H.B. 1449, a bill that institutes an arbitrary fee for the purchase of electric vehicles. The bill establishes a $100 fee for the purchase of an electric vehicle and $30 for the purchase of a hybrid vehicle without justification.
Johnson Bridgewater, the Sierra Club Oklahoma Chapter Director, Released the Following Statement in Response:
“Dirty transportation doesn’t just put the health of our climate at stake, smog and other air pollutants plague Oklahoma children with bad air days and asthma attacks. Nationally, about 53,000 people die prematurely every year from vehicle pollution, losing 10 years of life on average compared to life without tailpipe emissions. But, unlike gasoline-powered vehicles, electric vehicles provide considerable benefits to Oklahoma; their lack of tailpipe emissions improves Oklahoman’s air quality and benefits their health.
“With no rhyme or reason behind the legislation, the arbitrary fee has no connection to the actual costs and benefits of electric vehicles, in fact, it requires electric vehicle drivers to pay more than they would in gas taxes. The real reason behind this exorbitant fee is to punish electric vehicle owners for making the switch to cleaner transportation and protecting Oklahoma’s roads and public health.
“There are clear signs that the car industry is poised to go electric quickly, and in Oklahoma, this switch is badly needed. To clean up Oklahoma’s dirty air, cut climate emissions and assure Oklahoma is keeping up with the transition to a clean energy economy, we need to accelerate the transition to clean, electric vehicles. Unfortunately, this fee will pump the brakes on clean transportation.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.