SACRAMENTO — After an unsuccessful legislative effort this year that would have eventually banned the sale of new gas-powered cars in California, Assemblyman Phil Ting returned Monday with a more modest proposal he hopes will move the state toward the same goal.

AB40, introduced by the San Francisco Democrat, asks the state Air Resources Board to come up with a “comprehensive strategy” by Jan. 1, 2021, to ensure all cars sold in the state are free of greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Ting’s proposals come as the federal government is preparing to move in the opposite direction on zero-emission cars. Larry Kudlow, the White House’s chief economic adviser, said Monday that President Trump’s administration will try to end subsidies for electric car purchases, Bloomberg reported. Kudlow didn’t specify how the administration would scrap the subsidies, which Congress put in place, but suggested it could happen in 2020 or 2021, according to Bloomberg.

Ting put forward a bill in the last legislative session that would have imposed the ambitious goal, but it never got a hearing.

“This year, we’re taking a step back,” Ting said in an interview at his office in Sacramento. “Some of the feedback we got last time was, well, there’s no plan, it’s not fully fleshed out in terms of how many charging stations, how many cars, the infrastructure. … We want to go, OK, let’s take a look at what kind of infrastructure is needed to really get to the point where we need to get.”

Ting sees this as crucial to helping the state meet its “very aggressive” greenhouse gas reduction goals. While the state is on track to meet its goals right now, the progress is being driven by faster-than-expected improvements on energy production, while emissions from transportation sources are actually increasing, he said.

And the vast majority of those transportation-related emissions come from passenger vehicles, Ting noted.

“Everyone thinks that (it’s) the FedEx trucks, UPS trucks or the semis,” Ting said. “No — it’s just you, me and everybody driving their cars to and from work and from school, dropping their kids off. That is really what’s driving much of the greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector: It’s individuals in passenger vehicles.”

While conducting the analysis sought by Ting’s legislation, the air board would be required to consult stakeholders in academics, industry representatives and community members. The board would also have to identify what regulatory actions other state agencies could take to encourage more consumers to use zero-emission cars.

If the study identifies a feasible path to meeting the ambitious target to achieve emission-free car sales, further legislation would be required to actually solidify the goal.

“If we want clean air, we need to have clean cars,” Ting said. “It’s absolutely imperative that we take this very important step. If we don’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, we’re never gonna hit our greenhouse gas reductions (goal).”

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris