California is drafting plans to replace soon-to-expire federal electric-vehicle incentives with state-funded rebates, according to an Aug. 19 report sent to Governor Gavin Newsom by the California Air Resources Board and other agencies. The document urges Sacramento to ‘backfill the federal tax credits’—worth up to $7,500 for new EVs and $4,000 for used models—that the Trump administration will terminate on 30 September. Officials propose point-of-sale rebates, vouchers and utility bill credits to keep zero-emission vehicle sales on track for the state’s target of phasing out new gasoline-only cars by 2035. Funding could be drawn from California’s cap-and-trade program, which generates roughly $4 billion a year, or through a dedicated line in next year’s budget. The previous state rebate scheme, which ended in 2023, spent $1.49 billion on more than 594,000 vehicles. The push comes amid a dip in EV sales—22.3 % of new cars sold through 30 June were zero-emission or plug-in hybrids, down from 25 % last year—and criticism from some lawmakers who call the plan fiscally unsound. A recent poll shows voters broadly support financial incentives but are more skeptical of hard sales mandates, underscoring the political balancing act facing Newsom as he weighs the report’s recommendations.