Coalition of GOP AGs celebrate win against California's clean-truck rule

A coalition of Republican attorneys general is claiming victory against California following the state’s pledge to repeal its electric-truck mandate amid an ongoing lawsuit.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Steve Cliff, executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, agreed in a settlement on Monday to propose the elimination of multiple portions of California’s Advanced Clean Fleets regulation: its rule that has aimed to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions trucks.

The settlement occurred in response to a lawsuit filed by 17 attorneys general who disputed the idea that the rule would be targeting “any fleet that operated in California regardless of where the fleet is headquartered.”

“Given California’s large population and access to international ports, this rule would have had nationwide effects on the supply chain,” the attorneys general said in a statement.

As part of the settlement, Cliff agreed to propose the repeal of “the High-Priority Fleet and Drayage Fleet Requirements,” which refers to on-road vehicles that transport containers and bulk goods to and from sea-yards and rail-yards

Bonta and Cliff also conceded that they would not enforce the part of the regulation that would have required 100-percent, zero-emission-vehicle sales in the trucking sector beginning with model-year 2036.

The plaintiffs, meanwhile, agreed that if California finalizes the repeals, they would dismiss their lawsuit.

“This is not only a victory for the trucking industry — it is also a victory for consumers and common sense,” West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey said in a statement.

“This mandate would have crippled the trucking industry and driven up consumer pricing,” he added.

Joining McCuskey in the petition were the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming. Also supporting them were the Nebraska Trucking Association and the Arizona State Legislature.

McCuskey praised his colleagues for standing “up to California to prevent them from pushing their obsession with electric vehicle onto the rest of the country.”

The Hill has reached out to Bonta’s office for comment.