Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has taken legal action to prevent the Biden-Harris Administration from enforcing an electric-vehicle mandate on truck manufacturers. This move is part of a larger effort by a coalition of 24 states, known as Nebraska v. EPA, challenging the new rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Attorney General Marshall expressed his concerns about the administration's energy policies, stating, "The Biden-Harris Administration has declared war on American energy, and Americans are tired of its direct impact on their bank accounts." He emphasized the importance of maintaining access to internal-combustion trucks for secure and reliable transportation.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced a rule in April that sets strict emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles. The regulation aims to increase the production of electric trucks while reducing that of internal-combustion trucks. The attorneys general argue that this mandate presents a significant question that Congress has not authorized the EPA to decide.
The brief highlights that currently only a small fraction of heavy-duty trucks are battery-powered, but under the new rule, this number would rise to 45 percent within a decade. Such a shift could slow down goods transportation, stress the electric grid, and raise prices for consumers. Additionally, it argues that forcing manufacturers to produce electric versions of these vehicles should be a matter for Congress and state governments rather than federal agencies.
Alongside Attorney General Marshall, attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming have joined this legal challenge against the administration's policy.