Particle.news
Download on the App Store
19 ARTICLES
·
6d ago

Senate Moves Forward with Vote to Overturn California’s EV Mandate

Republican leaders plan to bypass procedural rulings to challenge EPA waivers enabling California’s gas-car phaseout by 2035.

Electric vehicle chargers from Electrify America are shown in a shopping center parking lot in Oceanside, California, U.S.,October 19, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2015, file photo, vehicles make their way westbound on Interstate 80 across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as seen from Treasure Island in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
FILE: Rep. Kevin Kiley answers a question from the moderators during the California recall debate at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, Calif., on Aug. 4, 2021.
EVGO Inc. Fast electric vehicle chargers are shown charging a Chevy Bolt in Encintas, California, U.S.,October 17, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Overview

  • Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader John Thune, are set to vote on reversing California’s EPA waivers despite rulings from the Senate parliamentarian and GAO that the waivers are not subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
  • The CRA allows Congress to nullify certain regulations with a simple majority, but its application to administrative waivers is unprecedented and legally contested.
  • Democratic leaders have criticized the move as a ‘nuclear option,’ warning that it could undermine Senate norms and the filibuster, while some GOP moderates have raised concerns about procedural implications.
  • California’s vehicle emissions standards, adopted by 11 other states and D.C., impact roughly 40% of the U.S. population and are seen as a de facto national policy by critics.
  • Senator Alex Padilla has placed holds on EPA nominees in protest, while automakers and industry groups have lobbied in favor of overturning the waivers, citing economic concerns.