Texas Plugs In To Plug-In Hybrids

January 27, 2009, 1:33 pm

Texas Plugs In To Plug-In Hybrids

Posted by Keith Johnson

Russell Gold reports:

Things are bigger in Texas. That may soon describe the tax break drivers get for buying a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in the Lone Star state.

Gov. Rick Perry is an http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122904054516499793.html">outspoken opponent of government regulation of greenhouse gases and what he calls “an increasingly activist EPA.” So what’s he doing subsidizing green transport? It’s all part of the governor’s plan to sidestep fresh mandates from Washington, he explained. From his prepared remarks:

Rather than wait for more mandates and punishments for environmental non-attainment, let’s continue encouraging innovation. I support giving Texans in the non-attainment areas of our state a $5,000 incentive towards a purchase of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles, using the funds Texans have already paid to reduce emissions, while providing a unique way to store wind energy.

If it passes the Republican-led Texas legislature, the proposed incentive would equal the amount offered by Oregon and be nearly twice as large as what California and Florida offer, says Jay Friedland, legislative director of http://www.pluginamerica.org/">Plug In America, a non-profit, pro-electric vehicle advocacy group. About a half dozen states currently offer a credit for buying a plug-in car.

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