California Trucking Association v. California Air Resources Board

After the California Air Resources Board's January 13, 2025 withdrawal of its request for a Clean Air Act preemption waiver for parts of it Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, the parties to a challenge to the regulation agreed to hold the case in abeyance while CARB staff present a proposal to repeal the High-Priority Fleet and Drayage Fleet Requirements of the regulation. CARB also agreed not to enforce the requirement for 100% zero-emission-vehicle sales in the medium- and heavy-duty categories beginning with model year 2036 until CARB obtains a Clean Air Act preemption waiver.

California Trucking Association (CTA) filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Eastern District of California challenging the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation. The complaint characterized the ACF regulation as comprising four principal parts: (1) regulations to phase in zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) for state and local government fleets; (2) regulations to phase in ZEVs for “high priority fleets”; (3) regulations to phase in ZEVs for drayage fleets; and (4) regulations to implement a 100% ZEV sales mandate effective in 2036. CTA asserted that the Clean Air Act and Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 preempted the ACF regulation, that it violated the dormant Commerce Clause, and that it violated the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution due to its vague standards and the discretion granted to CARB’s executive officer to determine whether to grant exemptions.