Release: Coalition Opposes the Adoption of California-style Regulations Across the Country
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2022
Contact: Jacob Posik
Director of Communications
Office: 207.321.2550
Coalition Releases Public Letter Opposing the Adoption of
California-style Regulations Across the Country
PORTLAND, Maine – Maine Policy Institute and a coalition of organizations from across the country released an open letter today pushing back against California-style regulations that will impact our respective states due to each state’s previous adoption of California’s emissions standards. This includes a ban on the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in 2020 banning the sale of most vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035. The California ICE ban will impact 16 other states which are legally tied to California’s emissions regulations, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. In response to California’s executive order, this new coalition is raising awareness about California-derived regulations and how they will impact individuals and small businesses in our respective jurisdictions.
Also of concern to Maine Policy is California’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) program. In December 2021, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) postponed its rule making to adopt the California ACT for “at least a year.” Compliance with the ACT would require manufacturers to sell zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles (ZEV) as an increasing percentage of their annual Maine sales from 2025 to 2035 according to the following schedule:
- 55% of Class 2b-3 truck sales would have to be ZEVs;
- 75% of Class 4-8 truck sales would have to be ZEVs;
- 40% of truck tractor sales would have to be ZEVs
“We have serious concerns about the feasibility of these policies amid record inflation and a supply chain crunch that continues to drive up costs for the average Maine consumer. The ICE ban would impose substantial burdens on individuals commuting to work or going about their daily business. The ACT program would hurt small businesses that transport goods across Maine, further inflating costs for consumers who purchase these goods shipped by medium and heavy-duty vehicles,” said policy analyst Nick Murray.
In addition to Maine Policy Institute, the coalition letter includes signatures from representatives of the American Energy Alliance, Americans for Prosperity, Caesar Rodney Institute, California Fuels & Convenience Alliance, Cascade Policy Institute, Center of the American Experiment, Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania, Citizens for Limited Taxation, Colorado-Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association, Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, Ethan Allen Institute, Fiscal Alliance Foundation, Fiscal Partners, Garden State Initiative, The Gaspee Project, Independence Institute, John Locke Foundation, Maine Energy Marketers Association, Maryland Public Policy Institute, Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Distributors Association, Nevada Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, Nevada Policy Research Institute, Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, Vermont Fuel Dealers Association, Washington Independent Energy Distributors and the Washington Policy Center.
The public letter is available here.
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Maine Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to expand individual liberty and economic freedom in Maine. Learn more about our work at www.mainepolicy.org.