Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has initiated two lawsuits aimed at halting the Biden Administration and the State of California from enforcing electric-vehicle mandates on truck owners and operators nationwide. The legal actions involve a coalition of 24 states challenging the Biden Administration's new regulation of emissions from heavy-duty vehicles in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
A separate coalition, comprising 17 states and the Nebraska Trucking Association, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. This suit seeks to prevent a set of regulations targeting trucking fleet owners and operators.
"Biden and California’s draconian electric-vehicle mandates pose direct and disastrous economic harms for the rest of the country. The second that a company drives a truck within California’s borders compliance will be required," stated Attorney General Marshall. "Is it realistic that out-of-state companies–just driving through the state–would need an electric truck that costs $400,000 before the costs of installing chargers? This will result in huge costs for all companies and further strain our supply chain, which will affect all of our personal finances."
The States’ D.C. Circuit suit takes aim at the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule imposing stringent tailpipe emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles. The rule effectively compels manufacturers to produce more electric trucks and fewer internal-combustion trucks.
The lawsuit contends that currently, electric trucks—and their supporting infrastructure—are virtually nonexistent. These vehicles also have shorter ranges and require longer stops than their internal-combustion counterparts.
The coalition's suit against California also disputes several regulations known as Advanced Clean Fleets. These rules mandate certain trucking fleet owners and operators to retire internal-combustion trucks in favor of more expensive, less efficient electric trucks—even if these fleets are headquartered outside California but operate within its borders.
“Unachievable electric truck mandates set our local trucking industry and Alabama consumers up for failure,” said Alabama Trucking Association President and CEO Mark Colson. “Rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach of unrealistic targets and timelines, we should have policies that embrace innovation and an all-of-the-above strategy to build on the trucking industry’s successful track record of reducing emissions. I applaud Attorney General Marshall for fighting to stop these misguided and ill-informed government overreaches that are taking money out of the pockets of Alabamians.”
Both lawsuits argue that the Biden Administration and California regulators have exceeded their constitutional and statutory authority in attempting to force the entire country to transition to electric trucks. They assert that both regulations defy reality as electric trucks are less efficient, less reliable, and more expensive. The challenged regulations, they claim, will harm all Americans by raising the costs of interstate transportation, increasing prices for basic goods, and burdening the electric power grid.