The California Car EV Mandate
- Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted California a waiver to continue and expand the state’s Advanced Clean Cars Program (ACCII).
- The ACCII includes a series of stringent regulations that mandate emission levels on all new passenger vehicles sold in California reach zero by 2035.
- Twelve states and D.C. have adopted California’s ACCII standards and placed 30.6% of the new passenger vehicle registrations in United States under the EV mandate.
- With nearly a third of the U.S. market impacted and many areas having insufficient infrastructure to support large numbers of electric vehicles, the ACCII waiver imposes a significant burden on Americans across the nation.
The California Truck EV Requirements
- The Biden-Harris EPA approved a waiver for California’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Program, requiring rising percentages of new truck sales to be zero-emission by 2035.
- Eleven states and D.C. have adopted this mandate—impacting 25% of the new U.S. truck market.
- Since 40% of imported goods pass through California ports, the ACT rules will raise trucking costs and consumer prices nationwide.
What Should Congress Do?
- The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows Congress to overturn federal regulations with a simple majority in both chambers and the president’s signature.
- In the Senate, the process is expedited to avoid a filibuster, while in the House, the resolution proceeds under a closed rule.
- Congress should take advantage of this opportunity to remove the ACCII and ACT waivers through the CRA process, working with the Trump Administration to put one of the most harmful regulations from the Biden-Harris Administration in the rearview mirror.
