The American Trucking Associations believes it is time to end California's regulatory autonomy regarding fuel economy and emissions standards.
ATA President & CEO Chris Spear sent a letter to House and Senate Republican leaders Tuesday calling on them to take away California's regulatory autonomy that the state has had for more than 40 years.
Specifically, in his letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, Spear urged lawmakers to use the Congressional Review Act to immediately revoke the Advanced Clean Trucks and Omnibus NOx waivers granted to California by the Biden Administration and adopted by 10 other states, as well as amend the Clean Air Act to revoke the statute’s waiver authority, preserving federal purview over interstate commerce.
“As the primary mover of more than three quarters of the nation’s freight, the trucking industry requires uniform, national rules and standards to facilitate interstate commerce and deliver for American businesses and families safely and efficiently,” Spear wrote. “When the Biden Administration granted waivers to California under the Clean Air Act, establishing technically unachievable emission standards along unrealistic timelines, it created a cascade of consequences that are now reverberating across the country, setting the trucking industry up for failure, and threatening to upend the supply chain for consumers.”
With purchase cycles already underway, ATA states fleets face difficult decisions that will impact their operations and costs for years to come. Beginning with the 2024 model year, ACT mandates that manufacturers progressively increase zero-emission vehicle sales.
[RELATED: Truck sales hitting ‘dead end’ in ACT rule opt-in states]
“As you look at various legislative vehicles to expedite a range of policy priorities this year, we ask that you consider any and all legislative means to address this issue, which affects every consumer and business across the country,” Spear wrote.
By repealing California’s waivers, ATA says the EPA will be empowered to develop realistic, technology-neutral federal emissions standards that will benefit the environment, preserve and create jobs and set the trucking industry and supply chain up for success
