California may beef up electric vehicle mandate

With the extension of California's landmark climate change law stalled, a legislative plan is emerging to significantly up the ante on California's commitment to electric vehicles by requiring that 15 percent of all new automobiles be emission-free within a decade. Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, D-Los Angeles, told The Associated Press on Friday that she'll introduce legislation next week to ramp up the pressure on carmakers. Automakers that fail to sell enough electric vehicles would be required to make payments to rivals that do or pay a fine to the state. The legislation comes as an effort to extend the state's landmark climate change law until 2030 falters in the state Assembly and sets up a showdown between powerful environmental advocates and automakers in the frenzied final weeks of California's legislative session. Burke's proposal would beef up California's existing vehicle mandates, which require automakers to gradually introduce cleaner vehicle technology. Under current law, automakers accumulate credits for selling vehicles with cleaner technology and must hit annual targets. Vehicles with longer range get extra credit. Because longer-range technology has advanced faster than expected, environmental advocates say, automakers have stockpiled credits for future use and won't have sufficient incentive to sell electric vehicles at affordable prices, preventing the state from meeting its goals for greenhouse-gas reduction...more