Make America Smoggy Again:’ Governor Newsom Responds to Illegal Senate Vote Aiming to Undo State’s Clean Air Policies

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced May 22 the state will file a lawsuit in response to Republicans in the U.S. Senate targeting California’s clean vehicles program – a move that will “Make America Smoggy Again.”

The Republican-controlled Senate is illegally using the Congressional Review Act or CRA to attempt to revoke California’s Clean Air Act waivers, which authorize California’s clean cars and trucks program. This defies decades of precedent of these waivers not being subject to the CRA, and contradicts the non-partisan government accountability office and Senate Parliamentarian, who both ruled that the CRA’s short-circuited process does not apply to the waivers.

The state’s efforts to clean its air ramped up under then-Gov. Ronald Reagan when he established the California Air Resources Board. California’s Clean Air Act waivers date back to the Nixon Administration – allowing the state to set standards necessary for cleaning up some of the worst air pollution in the country. 

California’s clean air authority

Since the Clean Air Act was adopted in 1970, the U.S. EPA has granted California more than 100 waivers for its clean air and climate efforts. California has consistently demonstrated that its standards are feasible, and that manufacturers have enough lead time to develop the technology to meet them. It has done so for every waiver it has submitted. 

Although California standards have dramatically improved air quality, the state’s conditions, including its unique geography means air quality goals still require continued progress on vehicle emissions. Five of the ten cities with the worst air pollution nationwide are in California. Ten million Californians in the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles air basins live under what is known as “severe nonattainment” conditions for ozone. People in these areas suffer unusually high rates of asthma and cardiopulmonary disease. Zero-emission vehicles are a critical part of the plan to protect Californians.

If upheld, the Republican rollback of these three regulations – against the rulings of the Senate Parliamentarian and GAO – would cost Californian taxpayers an estimated $45 billion in health care costs. 

Making driving less affordable

With these efforts by Congressional Republicans, not only are they trying to make clean air a thing of the past, they’re making driving a car more expensive. Zero-emission vehicles are often less expensive than their gas counterparts due to avoiding the need to pay for gasoline at the pump and smaller costs associated with maintenance and repair over the years. The regulations would provide $91 billion in cumulative net relief and economic benefits to Californians between next year and 2040.