Agriculture, Environment and Energy Committee

In December 2002, the California State Legislature passed legislation that would require automakers to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by the year 2016.  This would necessitate that automakers begin to make the needed alterations to their vehicles for model year 2009.  Under the Clean Air Act Amendments, California is the only state not preempted from enacting stricter or stronger regulations than the federal government save for the fact that they must receive permission from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement such rules.  As such, California filed a request for a waiver to implement the legislation on December 21, 2005.  On April 2, 2007, the United States Supreme Court stated that the EPA does have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act in the case Massachusetts v. EPA:  The EPA has yet to make a decision regarding California’s  waiver request.

State Impact

California is not the only state who is waiting for an answer from the EPA.  Under the Clean Air Act, states that have nonattainment or maintenance areas are permitted to adopt regulations that have been approved for California over federal regulations.  Currently, there are 14 states who have adopted California’s vehicle greenhouse gas emissions reduction regulations, and whose enforcement of the regulations is contingent on the EPA.  The 14 states are Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Administration Action

On May 22, 2007, the EPA held a public hearing on the matter in Arlington, Virginia, and conducted another public hearing  in Sacramento, California on May 30, 2007.  The Agency has received over 60,000 comments regarding the waiver request, with the majority of the comments targeted towards the granting of the waiver.  The EPA is also receiving pressure from the state of California itself.  EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson has been a frequent guest in front of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at the invitation of Chairman and California Senator Barbara Boxer.  California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California State Attorney General Jerry Brown have threatened to sue the EPA if a decision is not made by October 1.  Administrator Johnson has committed to reaching a decision on California’s waiver request by December 31, 2007.  He has also remarked that the agency is working on a rule that would regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles, which should be finished before January 2009, when President Bush leaves office. 

2007 Congressional Action

On July 31, 2007, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee narrowly approved S. 1785, legislation setting a September 30, 2007 deadline for EPA to respond to the waiver request. In the alternative, EPA’s deadline would be 30 days after enactment. S. 1785, sponsored by Florida Senator Bill Nelson and California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, includes a 180 day deadline for all future state waiver petitions. The legislation cleared committee on a 10-9 vote.

In the House of Representatives, Washington Representative Jay Inslee introduced H.R. 3083, companion legislation to S. 1785. Committee action has yet to occur. Accompanying H.R. 2643, the FY 2008 appropriations bill for Interior, Environment and Related Agencies that passed the House, is report language strongly encouraging the EPA to resolve the waiver request.

S. 1785 does not currently appear on the Senate Majority Leader’s list of must-pass legislation for this month.  The National Conference of State Legislatures will be following the progress of the both S. 1785 and H.R. 3083, and will be sending a letter to Administrator Johnson and both Houses of Congress to support states’ authority under the Clean Air Act.

Information updates will follow.  If you have any questions, please contact either Tamra Spielvogel (tamra.spielvogel@ncsl.org or 202.624.8690) or Amanda Naughton (amanda.naughton@ncsl.org or 202.624.3572).