WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to repeal a waiver granted to California by the Biden administration that the trucking industry considered costly electric vehicle mandates by requiring much of the industry to achieve zero-carbon emissions by 2035.
The Senate also voted to repeal a waiver that tightens nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission standards for heavy-duty trucks.
The nullifications of California’s Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) and Low NOx Omnibus rules, accomplished through two Congressional Review Act resolutions, have already been adopted by the House of Representatives. They head to the White House where they are expected to be signed by President Donald Trump.
“The trucking industry is no longer shackled by these unattainable regulatory standards set by unelected officials in California,” Jim Mullen, executive director of the Clean Freight Coalition, which is supported by major trucking fleets, said in an email to FreightWaves.
“To be clear: the trucking industry will continue to pursue an ‘all of the above’ strategy to reduce commercial vehicle emissions, while at the same time protecting the supply chain and the economy.”
The American Trucking Associations called the Senate’s repeal of the waivers a “monumental victory” for the trucking industry.
“We don’t need government mandates to tell us how to reduce our environmental impact — we’ve been doing it for forty years with a record to show, all while moving an ever-increasing percentage of the goods that Americans expect and depend on every day,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear in a statement on Thursday.
In a letter sent to Congress in April, Spear argued that California’s ACT regulation, if allowed to move forward, would have required truck manufacturers to increase zero-emission vehicle sales to 40% of the Class 7-8 fleet by the 2035 model year and would have “put enormous inflationary pressure on the economy.”
It has already been adopted by other states, he noted, “causing equipment costs to skyrocket for trucking companies, combined with a severe shortage of new and available clean-diesel equipment.”
California’s NOx rule, which took effect in 2024, has already increased prices for new trucks as well as boosting maintenance costs for trucks currently on the road, said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, commenting in support of the repeals.
“For OOIDA members, vehicle reliability and affordability are critical. It’s no wonder small-business truckers have left the state in droves to find better opportunities elsewhere.”
Calstart, a nonprofit organization that works with the transportation industry to cut air pollution, called the votes a “massive handout” to the trucking lobby.
“This move concedes the industries of the future to global competitors, will increase air pollution, accelerate global warming and result in significant job loss,” said Calstart President John Boesel in a press statement.
“It is a brazen, yet futile, attempt to bring the clean transportation industry to a sudden halt. Calstart will continue to partner with the states working to fill this gaping void left by today’s federal action.”
