Senate Republicans vote to revoke California’s right to set its own tailpipe pollution rules

The US Senate voted today to strip California of its authority to enact state limits on tailpipe pollution that are tougher than national standards.

Opponents called it an illegal move by Republican lawmakers that flies in the face of Senate rules and norms.

Senate Republicans went forward with the vote today anyway, revoking waivers that allow California to pursue its climate goals and improve air quality by reducing emissions from cars and trucks. 

“This is the easy way to do what the fossil fuel industry wants,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said on the Senate floor during deliberations that ended past 1:00AM ET. “They had this quick and dirty, sneaky maneuver that they could pull off so they didn’t have to negotiate, they didn’t have to legislate, and they didn’t have to use regulatory process.”

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted California waivers to set its own rules for car and truck emissions since the Clean Air Act was adopted in 1970. The standards the state sets for vehicle manufacturers can influence the entire industry because California is one of the biggest car markets in the world. Seventeen states and Washington, DC have also adopted all or part of California’s vehicle emission regulations. 

The EPA had previously issued waivers to California approving its plans to require an increasing number of medium and heavy-duty vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission, and all passenger vehicles sold to be zero-emission by 2035. Taken together, the resolutions passed today attempt to hobble one of the most ambitious plans to tackle climate change in the nation by rescinding those approvals. A third resolution also revokes a waiver the EPA had granted California to limit nitrogen oxide pollution from vehicles. House Republicans passed the measures a few weeks ago. 

“California has used its waiver authority to push its extreme climate policies on the rest of the country,” Sen. Shelley Capito (R-WV) said in closing remarks on the Senate floor last night.

Environmental advocates, meanwhile, argue that GOP lawmakers attacked the state’s rights. “If other states don’t like California’s approach, they don’t need to follow it – but federal lawmakers shouldn’t be intervening to block states from providing cleaner air and a healthier environment,” Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a press statement today.

Both Senate and House Republicans used the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to revoke the waivers. The CRA allows Congress to overturn certain new rules with a simple majority vote and avoid a filibuster by the opposing party. But the Senate parliamentarian and Government Accountability Office — nonpartisan watchdogs — have previously found that the waivers aren’t considered recent rules within the parameters of the CRA.

The vote today sends the CRA resolutions to President Donald Trump to sign. Trump unsuccessfully tried to take away California’s authority to set its own tailpipe standards during his first term in office. 

Auto trade groups have opposed California’s plans to require more EV sales. “Disapproval of the rules is essential to ensuring a unified national vehicle marketplace that promotes continued progress on fuel economy while safeguarding economic growth and consumer interests,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president of the US Chamber of Commerce said in a letter to senators last week.