Senate Votes to Revoke California’s EV Emissions Waivers – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
EDITOR’S NOTE: The RV industry has been grappling with a set of regulations enacted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that have significantly impacted motorized RV sales in the Golden State, which have been or are in the process of being adopted to various degrees by more than a handful of other states across the nation. Despite the Senate vote and President Trump’s expected signature, officials note that California’s planned lawsuit essentially means the regulations will remain in effect for the time being.
The Senate on Thursday, May 22, voted to revoke three vehicle emissions waivers in California, a controversial move that the chamber’s parliamentarian says Republican lawmakers may not have the right to make, according to a report by CBS News.
The vote was 51-44, with Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan joining Republicans in voting in favor of revoking the waivers.
Ahead of the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called it “the nuclear option.”
The three waivers the Senate revoked set stricter vehicle emissions standards than federal regulations. Two waivers relate to reducing tailpipe emissions from medium and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as limiting smog pollution from trucks.
The last is what’s frequently called California’s “EV mandate,” a rule that aims to phase-out gas powered cars and require all new vehicle sales in California be zero emissions by 2035. The rule to phase out gas powered vehicles goes into effect in 2026.
California was granted the ability to enact stricter vehicle emissions standards than the federal government under the Clean Air Act in a process that involves receiving a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency if the regulations meet certain requirements. The three waivers in question were approved by the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency in 2024.
Click here to read the full report by CBS News.
