CHARLESTON W.Va. (WVDN) — Attorney General JB McCuskey announced today that California has agreed to repeal its electric-truck mandates that reach well beyond California’s borders.
The coalition of 17 states, led by Nebraska and the Nebraska Trucking Association, challenged a suite of California regulations called Advanced Clean Fleets in the Eastern District of California. Among other things, Advanced Clean Fleets would have required certain trucking companies to retire internal-combustion trucks and transition to more expensive and less efficient electric trucks.
The rule targeted any fleet that operated in California regardless of where the fleet is headquartered. Given California’s large population and access to international ports, this rule would have had nationwide effects on the supply chain. In the settlement announced today, however, California has agreed not to enforce the rule and to outright repeal it.
“This is not only a victory for the trucking industry – it is also a victory for consumers and common sense,” Attorney General JB McCuskey said. “This mandate would have crippled the trucking industry and driven up consumer pricing. I am proud of the work that our coalition did to stop the madness and stand up to California to prevent them from pushing their obsession with electric vehicle onto the rest of the country.”
As part of the settlement, California regulators pledged to commence rulemaking proceedings to formally scrub the rule from the books. California regulators also conceded that they cannot enforce California’s 2036 ban on the sale of internal-combustion trucks unless and until the ban receives a Clean Air Act preemption waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Previously, Attorney General McCuskey joined a 24-state coalition in successfully opposing California’s request for a waiver.
In addition to Attorney General McCuskey, attorneys general from the following states joined the lawsuit against California regulators: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming. Also joining the lawsuit were the Nebraska Trucking Association and the Arizona State Legislature.
Read the court ruling here.
