Earlier this morning, the United States Senate joined their counterparts in the House of Representatives by voting to rescind waivers granted to California last year under the Clean Air Act. Hours later, California officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, announced they will sue the Trump Administration to protect the state’s clean air laws.
As SBCA explained yesterday, in brief: under the Clean Air Act, California has the right to set its own clean-air standards because the state’s efforts to remove smog from the air preceded the federal effort. However, California needs a waiver from the EPA before enacting rules more stringent than the federal ones.
In December, the EPA granted a waiver to California allowing the state to set deadlines for converting new car sales to zero-emission vehicles and shifting freight travel away from diesel trucks. Republicans used rules created under the “Congressional Review Act” (CRA) that allows the rescission of federal rules with a majority vote, not the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster. The resolution passed 51-44.
“Under California’s electric vehicle mandate, automakers around the country would be forced to close down a substantial part of their traditional vehicle production,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) after the vote.
California’s lawsuit argues that the CRA does not apply to waivers granted by the EPA. That argument is bolstered by the fact that the non-profit Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian have both publicly agreed. California’s Senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, both made certain that these opinions were read into the Senate record several times. The CRA has never been used to rescind a waiver in its history.
“If it's the next suit that we bring, it will be our 23rd lawsuit against the Trump administration, who has shown that he is a repeat offender when it comes to violating the law,” said Bonta announcing the lawsuit before pivoting to the value EPA waivers have given to California.
“Waivers granted by the EPA have allowed us to improve our standards, standards that are vital on all fronts: They lower harmful emissions. They improve overall public health. That's better for our people. It's better for our planet.”
While Newsom also hammered the legal argument for continuing the waiver, he also made the political argument that the federal government should get out of California’s way on both climate and technology leadership.
“As kids are choking up, burning up and heating up because of climate change, we need to change and so we are here, firm in our resolve, proud of our progress, proud of being leaders,” said Newsom. “Proud of always striving for audacious goals and exceeding them. In every single instance, we've exceeded our goals.”
The Governor also argued that the state’s leadership has allowed America to be a leader in creating electric vehicles, saying that the state’s framework and promises to the electric vehicle industry helped lead to the success of Tesla. Newsom asserted that, as the global economy moves towards electric vehicles, the federal government’s move to embrace outdated gas-powered technologies will not only lead to a smoggy America, but also one that can’t compete in the vehicle market.
“This was also a big day for China. China is celebrating,” concluded Newsom of the Senate vote.
“This was a day that marks a moment of acceleration in their capacity to dominate in the next big global industry. California was one of the leading players in this space. The world we invented now is competing against us.”
