House Resolutions Push Back on CARB’s EPA Waivers

The House of Representatives voted to roll back EPA emissions waivers for California, more than three months after the state abandoned the goal.

Two measures conveying disapproval of the waivers — which were linchpins in California’s Advanced Clean Fleets strategy — sailed through the House on April 30, congressional records show.

The move comes after the California Air Resource Board (CARB) notified the EPA in January that it was abandoning the waivers, which were necessary for it to implement its goal of having only zero-emissions commercial vehicles in operation by 2045. The EPA closed the case the next day.

House Joint Resolution 87, which passed 231-191, focused on the zero-emissions standard, records reveal. House Joint Resolution 89, which was approved 225-196, concerned nitrogen oxides.

The resolutions specified that any rule stemming from those waivers “shall have no force or effect.”

The two resolutions face an uncertain future in the Senate.