Billions former President Joe Biden’s administration earmarked for electrical vehicles would go toward Wyoming highways and U.S. interstates under legislation U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis proposed on Wednesday.
The Highway Funding Flexibility Act would pull what’s left of a $7.5 billion multiyear federal investment from the electric vehicle charging station mandates that Biden put in place and redirect it toward fixing federally-funded highways, bridges, wildlife crossings and other transportation features in America.
“For far too long, the people of Wyoming were forced to endure Biden’s radical EV mandates that dedicated their hard-earned tax dollars toward Green New Deal initiatives that do not effectively serve the state of Wyoming,” Lummis said in a Wednesday statement. “My legislation frees up these funds to address Wyoming’s actual transportation needs without adding to the national debt, rather than forcing Biden-era EV mandates on the Cowboy State.”
Under the Biden administration, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and $2.5 billion for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program, from 2022-2026, totaling $7.5 billion.
The program was part of the Biden administration's ambitious plan to improve access to charging stations, which are a major reason why many drivers hesitate to switch to EVs. The goal was to build a network of highways with EV charging stations every 50 miles and accelerate the country's transition away from gas- and diesel-powered vehicles
The NEVI program required a 20% match from private businesses, which would build and operate the stations, rather than the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). The feds were supposed to kick in all the money to support the stations’ operations for up to five years.
Wyoming was slated to receive a roughly $25 million cut of the total $7.5 billion. Katie Warbinton, Lummis’ communications director, said only around $300,000 was spent toward this project, leaving about $24.7 million remaining for possible infrastructure maintenance.
If passed into law, the bill would guarantee the money gets used and not rescinded.
State Of Electric In Wyoming
State Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the EV efforts were misguided and not tailored for Wyoming based on the 50-mile requirement alone.
“No one is going to invest in doing that when you’re building it out in the middle of nowhere,” Pappas said. “It was problematic to begin with for Wyoming.”
Last year, there were 261 electric vehicle charging ports in Wyoming, 0.55% of the 47,014 chargers nationwide, according to the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Plans were also in place to provide about $26.8 million to help build a network of 26 more charging stations across the state’s Interstate 80, 25 and 90 corridors early this year, but that was scrapped when Trump cancelled the program.
Wyoming had 1,080 electric vehicle registrations in 2023, up from 800 the previous year. The 1,080 EVs in Wyoming represent 0.03% of the total 3.3 million EVs registered in the U.S in all of 2023.
“There’s just not enough drivers,” Pappas said. “It was really more for people driving to Wyoming, which we do need to put charging stations in place if people want to see.”
Trump Stops EV Plans
Last month, President Donald Trump halted the program. This action gives Congress the ability to redirect money that was originally used for the EV mandates.
As a result of this move, WYDOT Deputy Public Affairs Officer Jordan Young said no charging stations have been built in Wyoming using NEVI money. Young said the U.S. Department of Transportation asked states to pause the program until further guidance is given.
Earlier this month, Trump also ordered the federal government to stop ordering electric vehicles for its fleet of vehicles, stopped the installation of new EV charging stations, and ordered some existing stations to shut down. The Biden administration had been transitioning the federal fleet to zero-emission vehicles as part of its efforts to combat climate change and support the EV industry.
On his first day in office, he also revoked a goal set by Biden for battery-powered vehicles to make up 50% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030, which Trump says saves “auto workers and companies from economic destruction."
What’s Next?
WYDOT Director Darin Westby told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that they appreciate the legislation Lummis has brought, as it allows his agency more flexibility.
"We are appreciative of Senator Lummis and her legislation that would allow us to be more flexible with our portion of this funding, which totals to about $25 million, in order to meet some of our unfunded highway needs across the state,” Westby said. “Should this legislation be successful, WYDOT is ready to hit the ground running and put that funding to work for Wyoming."
Westby said if the legislation passes into law, WYDOT would likely provide its own monetary match for work on roads, bridges, truck parking, and or wildlife crossings.
When it comes to highway construction, each state’s department of transportation oversees highway construction projects on both federal and state highways. WYDOT must match any federal money it gets with state funds, often a 90%/10% split between federal and state money.
Jordan said WYDOT will have to wait to see what specifications the bill makes on where money could be spent before identifying specific potential projects.
Pappas said WYDOT’s funding needs have only declined since the agency announced it had a roughly $400 million shortfall a few years ago. Last year, he said the agency was about $120 million -$130 million short on its road maintenance needs.
During the 2025 Legislature, a bill passed into law directing a portion of the state’s sales tax revenues to the Highway Fund for construction efforts, which is forecasted to have a $69 million impact.
During the upcoming interim session, the Transportation Committee will continue to explore ways to better fund fixing the state’s roads.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
