Mullin, others challenge California EV mandates

Last week, U.S. Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) will introduce the Preserving Choice in Vehicles Act to limit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing Clean Air Act (CAA) waivers for state policies seeking to ban or otherwise limit the sale of internal combustion engines. This legislation would preserve consumer choice and maintain competition in the automotive markets by ensuring Americans have access to reliable and affordable vehicles.

In August 2022, the California Air Resources Board adopted its Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) regulation that would require all light-duty vehicle sales to qualify as “zero emission” by 2035, but cannot enforce it unless EPA approves a waiver for Cali- fornia to do so. In March 2023, California was granted two EPA waivers to implement more stringent medium and heavy-duty vehicle emission standards than what is federally mandated. This bill follows California’s anticipated application to EPA for another waiver to implement its ACCII regulation to ban the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035. Representative John Joyce (PA-13) introduced the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. Senators John Barrasso (RWY), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and John Hoeven (RND) joined Mullin, Marshall, and Ricketts in cosponsoring this legislation.