(HB1791)

GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 1791, which would establish the Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund which would be administered through the Virginia Department of Energy.

Many programs currently exist to support the development of charging infrastructure from federal programs administered through the Virginia Department of Energy, to the misguided attempts to allow Virginia’s electric utilities to develop charging networks to support the adoption of electric vehicles and its infrastructure. Ultimately, the ever-present ability for private industry to construct charging stations as is done by many such as Buc-ee’s, Sheetz, etc. Finally, the state funded program is not a good use of state resources.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.