Moore issues executive order that could delay EV sales penalties

by Christine Condon and Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
April 4, 2025

Gov. Wes Moore (D) issued an executive order Friday that could delay initial penalties for electric vehicle manufacturers who do not meet sales goals under a prescriptive state plan that is supposed to take effect next year.

The order will maximize the Maryland Department of Environment’s enforcement discretion “to ease compliance” with the rule – including by declining to enforce penalties for model years 2027 and 2028.

“This is about making real progress on the transition to clean transportation while giving manufacturers, dealers, and Marylanders a fair shot to prepare,” wrote Carter Elliott IV, a spokesperson for Moore. “We are using every tool available to stay on track with our climate goals, and bringing everyone to the table to find thoughtful solutions.”

The order echoes a bill proposed this year by Del. Dana Stein (D-Baltimore County) that would prevent penalties from being assessed for those same years.

Stein’s bill is advancing in the final days of the General Assembly session, receiving an initial approval from the House Friday.

Stein said Friday that Moore’s executive order “definitely could change things” with respect to his bill,  House Bill 1556.

Stein has said that he introduced his bill in response to concerns from auto dealers, who said that manufacturers would likely send fewer cars into Maryland to comply with the rule, harming dealerships. Suspending penalties for two model years would prevent manufacturers from doing that, Stein said.

“The dealers, especially the manufacturers, have been looking for that type of assurance. So if the executive order has that, then sure, that could very well do the trick,” Stein said.

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Maryland adopted a California program called Advanced Clean Cars II, which requires that electric vehicles account for 43% of cars sold in the state by a manufacturer in the 2027 model year. The number grows to 51% in model year 2028, eventually reaching 100% by the 2035 model year.

Maryland has also adopted a similar California rule for larger vehicles such as trucks. Moore’s order also opens the door for MDE to avoid enforcing penalties on those vehicles for model years 2027 and 2028, unless the agency releases an assessment on the rule by Dec. 1.

Moore’s order stated that President Donald Trump’s tariffs and actions on electric vehicles, including rescinding funding for charging infrastructure, also pushed Maryland to intervene to assist manufacturers.

“The Moore-Miller Administration remains committed to successful implementation of the State’s clean car and truck programs, but recognizes that temporary short-term measures are necessary to ensure the programs’ long-term success,” read the order.

Moore’s order — and Stein’s bill — would bring penalties back into play for model years 2027 and 2028 if California officials reach a new agreement on the rule’s requirements with car manufacturers representing at least 40% of the market share.

Moore’s order would also establish a working group to develop recommendations on how the Clean Cars rule can be “successfully implemented” in Maryland.

The group would include Moore’s environment and transportation secretaries, his chief sustainability officer, two legislators and one representative each for car manufacturers, Maryland auto dealers and Maryland truckers. Environmental groups would get three slots, chosen by Moore.

Environmental groups fought Stein’s bill, arguing it would give manufacturers a hall pass — and potentially impede the Clean Cars program in the other states that have adopted California’s rule.

They cited data from MDE, which stated that car manufacturers could use credits from other EV manufacturers to lower the first year’s sales target from 43% down to 19%.

The Maryland Sierra Cljub said Friday night that it was “disappointed” by the “premature” order, which it said “risks removing all the teeth from the programs and rewarding the laggards in the industry.”

“This EO [executive order] risks undermining the program,” said the statement from Maryland Sierra Club Chapter Director Josh Tulkin. “Delaying our clean vehicle programs would stall progress on cutting harmful air pollution. We call on Gov. Moore to continue implementing these life-saving programs without delay.”

Chesapeake Climate Action Network urged Maryland to “stay committed to the Advanced Clean Cars and Trucks programs and not undermine them,” arguing the programs have expanded the EV market in Maryland and reduced air pollution.

The Maryland League of Conservation Voters, by contrast, was “pleased” by Moore’s executive order — even though it opposed Stein’s bill. Kim Coble, the league’s executive director, said suspending the penalties in an executive order set a less damaging precedent than doing so via a change to state law.

The league believed that MDE already had the power to withhold penalties, and Moore’s order just clarified it, leaving the final decision in MDE’s hands.

“The bill said: ‘You shall not enforce the program,’ instead of letting MDE use their existing powers to manage the program,” Coble said.

Coble said she was also encouraged that the governor stated his intention to keep pressing ahead with the EV program, and that he created the working group.

“It sets the direction. It makes his wishes very clear,” she said. “But it also says we’re going to take a beat and figure out how to make this program work for Maryland.”

Craig Segall, an independent consultant who previously helped shape the Clean Cars regulations as an official with the California Air Resources Board, said it was a “pity” to see Moore, a Democratic governor, rolling back the regulations faster than Trump’s administration. Essentially, Moore folded before actually negotiating with car companies, Segall said.

But, he said, “the die is not cast.” Technically, under the order, MDE could take a different approach. Segall said he would have preferred to see Moore convene the working group but not suggest that his agency suspend the penalties.

Sen. Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore), the Senate’s minority leader, said in a statement he would have preferred for Maryland to abandon the Clean Cars program altogether, but called Friday’s executive order “a step in the right direction.”

“I’m pleased that the Governor has acknowledged the serious economic consequences these mandates pose to Marylanders and one of our state’s largest job creators — the automotive industry,” Hershey wrote.

Peter Kitzmiller, president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, said he was surprised to learn recently that Moore wanted to issue an executive order. But he said the order assures Maryland dealers that the EV regulations won’t result in lowered inventories, sending car buyers a short drive across Maryland borders into other states.

“This two-year delay gives us some certainty — and we need some certainty right now in the car business,” Kitzmiller said, citing recent tariffs impacting car shipments.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org.