September 16, 2024 Attorney General Miyares Urges EPA to Stop California’s Electric Truck Mandate

Attorney General Miyares Urges EPA to Stop California's Electric-Truck Mandate

RICHMOND, VA - Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares joined a comment letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain a federal legal block on California's Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation. The regulation, which stems from a 2020 executive order signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, attempts to force an electric-truck mandate on fleet owners, operators, and manufacturers-even trucking companies that operate in California as little as one day per year.

"California is playing games with America's livelihood. This mandate doesn't just affect California-it weaponizes the state's massive ports to force the entire nation to bow to an extreme environmental agenda," said Attorney General Miyares. "California's so-called 'in-state' ban is nothing more than an export of California's economic chaos, creating real harm across American industries and raising costs for families everywhere. The federal government should not preference California to the detriment of the other 49 states."

Under the Clean Air Act, only the federal government can set emissions standards for vehicles, except that California (and only California) can ask for a waiver to set its own standards. After California asked the EPA for a waiver to enforce ACF, the EPA solicited comments on whether to allow California to implement its regulation. The 24-state coalition argues that EPA should not allow California to implement an electric-vehicle mandate that could disrupt American industry, undermine the reliability of the electric grid, and increase costs for working families.

This mandate would also unconstitutionally permit California to regulate transportation in a way that no other State can.

By banning internal combustion trucks on California's roads, the state would effectively force trucking companies nationwide to retire their existing fleets just to stay operational. Given California's critical role as a hub for international trade, the ripple effects would be nationwide, threatening to disrupt the supply chain, slow the transport of goods, and increase prices for everyday consumers.

In addition to Attorney General Miyares, attorneys general from the following states joined the comment to the EPA: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Click here to read the letter.

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