The Kentucky House is trying to limit electric vehicle purchases by state government agencies in favor of vehicles with internal combustion engines. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
FRANKFORT — Auto manufacturers are investing billions in Kentucky to build electric vehicles, but some state agencies wouldn’t be able to buy them under a mandate from the Republican House.
The two-year state spending plan passed by the GOP-dominated House this month would require various state agencies looking to buy new vehicles to purchase only those that have internal combustion engines — meaning primarily gasoline-powered vehicles. That would exclude electric vehicles because they are powered by a battery not an internal combustion engine. Hybrid vehicles use an internal combustion engine paired with a smaller electric battery.
Frank Jemley, the president and CEO of the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers, said his group wants to see the mandate modified to allow state agencies to purchase from a wide variety of vehicle options, ranging from hybrids to EVs.