Nineteen states challenge California’s Advanced Clean Trucks reg

A coalition of 19 states is challenging California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, claiming it violates the Clean Air Act.

On June 5, 19 state attorneys general filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation. The regulation requires half of all new heavy-duty vehicles sold in the state to be electric by 2035.

Specifically, manufacturers who certify Class 2b-8 chassis or complete vehicles with combustion engines would be required to sell zero-emission trucks as an increasing percentage of their annual California sales from 2024 to 2035. By 2035, zero-emission truck/chassis sales would need to be 55% of Class 2b-3 truck sales, 75% of Class 4-8 straight truck sales, and 40% of truck tractor sales.

According to an Iowa Office of the Attorney General news release, the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation will cost businesses and consumers as it will hike prices of a new truck to the high six figures.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird claims that California’s Advanced Clean Trucks will set a standard nationwide. Eight other states have adopted the regulation. More states are considering making the move.

Bird also claims the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation will “devastate the demand for liquid fuel” and “cut trucking jobs across the nation.”

Iowa’s trucking industry currently provides almost 100,000 jobs, which is nearly one in 13 jobs in the state.

“The EPA and California have no right or legal justification to force truckers to follow their radical climate agenda,” Bird said in a statement. “America would grind to a halt without truckers who deliver our food, clothes and other necessities. But rather than support our hard-working truckers, Biden continues to empty their wallets and force them to drive electric trucks for his radical climate change agenda. Iowa isn’t going to take a backseat as the EPA and California try to regulate truckers out of business. We’re pushing back.”

Iowa led the lawsuit joined by Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Trucking industry stakeholders argue that California is moving too fast with its Advanced Clean Trucks regulation.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has long argued that truckers also want a cleaner environment but that the technology must be reliable and cost-effective.

“This is another example of California approving onerous regulations that increase operating costs for truckers within the state,” said Jay Grimes, OOIDA director of federal affairs. “Whether it’s CARB emission requirements or misguided legislation like AB5, it’s no surprise we’re seeing small-business truckers and independent contractors looking for opportunities elsewhere. Vehicle reliability and affordability are top priorities for OOIDA members. We have yet to see proof that electric (commercial motor vehicles) are a realistic option for most trucking businesses considering the price tag and lack of charging infrastructure.” LL