Twenty-Four AGs Challenged Withdrawal of California’s Auto Emissions Authority

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a coalition of 24 state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule revoking a waiver granted to California under the Clean Air Act to enforce automobile fuel efficiency regulations more stringent than those set by the federal government. Thirteen other states and Washington D.C. have already adopted California’s standards in whole or part, as allowed under Section 177 of the Clean Air Act, and New Mexico and Minnesota both announced plans to do so in the wake of the administration’s decision. In a statement, AG Becerra criticized the administration for “attacking the authority of California and other states to tackle air pollution and protect public health,” and noted that California’s standards have already been upheld by two federal courts, which “reject[ed] the argument the Trump Administration resurrects to justify its misguided” rule.