"A 2021 state law linked Virginia vehicle emissions standards to California as part of efforts to combat climate change".

"California’s decision to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars beginning in 2035 will also halt the sale of such vehicles in Virginia due to a 2021 law linking the commonwealth to the western state’s vehicle emissions standards, state attorneys have concluded.

In a Thursday email obtained by the Mercury, Assistant Attorney General Michael Jagels concluded that Virginia is “bound” by the California decision because the state chose to be “statutorily and regulatorily aligned with California.”

Decoupling from California’s path would require “an amendment or repeal of the mandating legislation,” Jagels wrote.

A senior Republican confirmed separately that attorneys with the state’s legislative branch had reached the same conclusion."

Sarah Vogelsong reports for the Virginia Mercury August 26, 2022. [2]