Doug Sheridan, as usual, offers some great takes on the Congressional override of the California EV mandate that was adopted by default by numerous other senseless states:
The WSJ Editorial Board writes, the US Senate has voted 51-44 to free Americans from California’s onerous EV mandate. The Senate’s move follows similar action in the House, which this month voted 246-164 for a resolution to rescind a federal waiver that gave a green light to California’s EV mandate.
Under California’s EV regime, 35% of auto maker sales next year are required to be “zero-emission vehicles,” rising to 68% in 2030 and 100% by 2035. The Clean Air Act lets California set its own vehicle emissions standards, which was meant to address its historically smoggier air. CO2 emissions from gas cars don’t contribute to pollution, but the Environmental Protection Agency under Biden granted a waiver anyway to bless the policy.
A dozen or so other states have also adopted California’s rules. But auto makers aren’t anywhere close to meeting the quotas. In 2023, EVs made up a mere 13% of sales for traditional car makers in California, 8% in Massachusetts and 6% in New York.
Copycat
Auto makers warn continuation of the quotas would force them to produce fewer gas cars. Prices would almost certainly rise to offset their EV losses. The mandate would harm workers, too. Auto makers have shed jobs as they ratchet up EV production. Michigan has lost 11,600 motor vehicle and parts jobs in the past two years.
This explains why Michigan’s Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin joined Republicans in killing the California quotas. “I have a special responsibility to stand up for the more than one million Michiganders whose livelihoods depend on the U.S. auto industry,” she said. Credit to the Senator for keeping her pledge from last year’s campaign to oppose EV mandates.
Newsom plans to go to court to defend California’s power to dictate what kinds of cars people can buy. He’s unlikely to prevail, since the CRA prohibits judicial review of any “determination, finding, action, or omission under” the law.
At the same time, the California Governor has recently gone in reverse on some of his politically unpopular positions. If Newsom wants to run for President in 2028, and doesn’t want to crash and burn in Michigan, here’s another place he might consider a U-turn.
Our Take 1: This is a welcome development that will benefit both US automakers and consumers. We’ve nothing against EVs per se, but for too many years, they have been given special treatment to the detriment of free markets. It's time this one stopped. Good on Congress.
Our Take 2: The fact that EV sales fell 5% in April, as well as the fact that Ford Motor Company and General Motors are losing billions on EVs suggests it’s time to move away from mandates for these now commonplace products. Stop the market distortions—let consumers decide what they want to own and drive.
Our Take 3: The benefit to this being remedied via the Congressional Review Act is that (by all indications) it cannot be reviewed or reversed. It's final. And that's huge!
I have an additional take and it a simple question. What’s wrong with states that cannot think for themselves and want to defer to California crazies? I asked Groj who they are and got this:
Under Section 177 of the Clean Air Act, states can adopt California’s vehicle emissions standards, including the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires 100% of new light-duty vehicles sold to be zero-emission (battery electric, plug-in hybrid, or hydrogen fuel cell) by 2035, starting with 35% in 2026. The following states have adopted California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulations, aligning with this mandate:
Connecticut
Delaware
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Rhode Island
Vermont
Washington
Washington, D.C.
These 12 jurisdictions, including Washington, D.C., have adopted the mandate, representing about 40% of the U.S. auto market. Note that Virginia was part of this group but withdrew from the mandate effective at the end of 2024.
Some states, like Colorado, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania, have adopted parts of California’s earlier standards (e.g., Advanced Clean Cars I or Low-Emission Vehicle standards) but have not fully committed to the ACC II ZEV mandate for 2035. For instance, Colorado and Pennsylvania have explicitly declined to adopt the 100% ZEV requirement by 2035, and Minnesota’s adoption is complicated by legal and political challenges, with no clear commitment to the new rules.
This is largely a case of Blue State insanity, of course, but Pennsylvania is a stunner. It didn’t adopt the full EV mandate it appears, but apparently is letting Gavin Newsom dictate other vehicle emission standards? I guess I need to write my state rep! We should be automatically rejecting any California standards! But, what did happen instead is the kind of thing that happens in the dark of night politically and/or by bureaucratic sleight of hand, and why no one trusts government at any level, anymore, of course.
Absolutely a great post, thanks!!!
As usual, I learned from your post! Thanks.