Congress is one step closer to repealing California’s clean truck rules, including Advanced Clean Trucks, but a few obstacles lie ahead.
On Wednesday, April 30, the House passed Congressional Review Act joint resolutions to rescind the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of two California clean truck rules. If the resolutions clear the Senate, it could spell the end for Advanced Clean Trucks and the heavy-duty “Omnibus” regulations.
The resolution to end Advanced Clean Trucks passed with a 231-191 vote, including votes in favor from 13 Democrats. The bill to terminate the heavy-duty Omnibus rule cleared the House 225-196, including votes in favor from 10 Democrats. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania was the lone Republican voting against both resolutions.
Trucking stakeholders commended the House’s move toward ending California’s truck emission rules.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association applauded the efforts of Reps. John James, R- Mich., and Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., to protect small-business truck drivers across the country from California’s clean truck regulations.
James introduced the resolution to repeal the Advanced Clean Trucks EPA waiver, and Obernolte introduced the one to repeal the heavy-duty Omnibus rule.
“Setting national policy is the responsibility of Congress, not California,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “It’s no wonder small-business truckers have left the state in droves to find better opportunities elsewhere. For OOIDA members, vehicle reliability and affordability are critical. So far, there is no convincing evidence that electric commercial motor vehicles are a viable option for small-business truckers given the high costs and inadequate charging infrastructure. Additionally, CARB’s overreaching Omnibus NOx rules have already raised prices on new vehicles and increased maintenance costs for trucks currently on the road.”
American Truck Dealers President Jacqueline Gelb urged House members on Tuesday, April 29, to pass the resolutions, highlighting the damage the two clean truck regulations have done to truck dealerships.
“California’s NOx regulation has increased the price of a diesel truck and is expected to continue to increase truck costs over the next two years as the industry is forced to meet unrealistic regulatory timelines,” Gelb stated in a letter to House members. “Due in part to this regulation and ACT, California’s truck diesel sales were down on average 50% in 2024 versus 2023 sales. Congress should reject California’s NOx rule because the marginal benefits of the rule do not outweigh the significant related costs and impacts on small businesses and jobs.”
Environmental group Earthjustice raised concerns over the House’s use of the Congressional Review Act, which the government watchdog agency and the Senate parliamentarian both found cannot be used to reverse EPA waivers.
“While today’s vote is a short-term and symbolic victory for executives in the oil and gas industry, it won’t change the course of the country’s inevitable transition to healthy and efficient electric vehicles,” Raul Garcia, vice president of policy and legislation at Earthjustice, said in a statement. “We hope to see clearer minds prevail in the Senate so that the rule of law is ultimately preserved.”
Senate showdown
Resolutions to effectively kill California clean truck rules are now in the hands of the Senate, where their fate is unclear.
Although the EPA under former President Joe Biden granted three waivers for California vehicle emission rules, the agency reversed course under President Trump. In February, the EPA announced it would be sending the waivers to Congress under the Congressional Review Act.
In March, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the EPA waivers greenlighting California’s truck emission rules are not subject to the Congressional Review Act. That finding doubled down on a similar ruling from November 2023.
Despite GAO’s findings, James and Obernolte filed the Congressional Review Act resolutions in April. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, told Land Line in an email that she is backing the EPA’s determination that the waivers are rules subject to the Congressional Review Act.
“Chairman Capito continues to agree with the EPA that these waivers are rules and subject to a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act,” an EPW Republicans spokesperson said. “There is nothing in the Congressional Review Act that allows GAO to overrule an agency’s determination that an action is a rule under that statute.”
Just hours before senators introduced their version of the resolutions, the Senate parliamentarian also ruled that EPA waivers for California’s clean truck rules cannot be challenged through the Congressional Review Act.
The parliamentarian advises the Senate on the rules and procedures of the chamber.
According to Politico, Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), John Curtis (Utah) and John Cornyn (Texas) have expressed concerns to Senate Majority Leader John Thune about going against the parliamentarian’s findings. Republicans hold a slim 53-45-2 majority, with the two independents caucusing with the Democrats.
In March, Democrat Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff issued a joint statement criticizing the Trump administration’s “weaponization” of the EPA. The senators are members of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
“By ignoring decades of precedent and the plain text of the Congressional Review Act, the Trump EPA is attempting to sell out our nation’s public health and environmental protections to the same polluting industries that bankrolled much of Trump’s campaign,” the senators said. “Congress put in place California’s ability to set vehicle emissions standards in the Clean Air Act, and California emission standards have protected generations of Americans against fossil fuel emissions that poison our air and heat our planet.” LL
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