The Illinois House Energy & Environment Committee scheduled a hearing for legislation that would tie Illinois’ vehicle emissions testing standards to California’s standards.

The hearing is scheduled for February 20. The legislation, HB 1634, was introduced by Representative Edgar Gonzalez (D-Chicago).

The bill, if passed, would require the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to adopt and maintain rules implementing “the motor vehicle emissions standards of the State of California” in Illinois, effectively outsourcing an important area of Illinois’ transportation and environmental decision-making to California officials.

California, due to a special federal waiver, has implemented more stringent vehicle emissions standards than the rest of the country, making headlines recently for adopting rules that would ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035.

If you wish to have your voice heard on this legislation, you can file a committee witness slip HERE.