EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. —   Governor Tim Walz defended his program to accelerate the switch to electric cars, which the Legislature approved despite major opposition from Republicans in the Senate. Someday people will wonder why there was such a fuss, Walz said. The governor, a Democrat, spoke at the Phillips & Temro plant, which manufactures electric vehicle chargers in Eden Prairie. The occasion was publication of the new rules by the state Pollution Control Agency in the State Register, which made the rules official. The clean-car rules take effect for 2025 model year vehicles. The rules, Walz said, will mean more choices for consumers shopping for electric cars, cleaner air at a time of growing concern about climate change. Minnesota is the first Midwest state to adopt the so-called California plan. Fourteen other states already have adopted similar standards. Said Walz“In the 14 other states, the sky did not fall,. The car industry did not collapse. Jobs were not lost. In fact, just the opposite happened in all 14 other states.

Earlier: GOP backs off purging Walz cabinet

At battery factory. Governor: The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ready to enforce new standards for 2025 cars.

Hard-ball politics

The major opposition in the Legislature was from car dealers, who objected to forcing electric vehicles on buyers who may not want therm. Walz paid heavily for sticking to his guns. His pollution control commissioner, Laura Bishop, was pressured to resign when GOP-controlled state Senate threatened to reject her long-delayed confirmation because she had pushed for the California rules.