SAN FRANCISCO—California lawmakers are considering $3 billion worth of rebates for buyers of electric cars in an effort to power an industry that relies heavily on public subsidies.

The bill has passed the state Assembly, and is advancing in the state Senate, which is expected to take up the bill once it clears a final committee next month. Gov. Jerry Brown has set ambitious goals for zero-emissions vehicles; he hasn’t said whether he would sign this bill.

California has long been a leader on environmental, clean air and climate policies with its large size, geography and heavy reliance on the automobile. The state already has more than 250,000 zero emission vehicles on its roads, including electric cars, accounting for about half the U.S. market, according to the California Air Resources Board.

Similar incentives helped boost electric car sales elsewhere.

A $5,000 tax credit in Georgia helped the state become the second-largest electric vehicles market in the U.S. after California until the state tax credit was eliminated in July 2015, according to Edmunds, a website that tracks automotive sales. After the change, sales in Georgia fell to 2% of all U.S. electric vehicles sold in 2016 from 17% in 2014, according to the site. Georgia sales of Tesla, luxury electric vehicles that typically sell for about $100,000, initially fell but bounced back, according to Edmunds.