‘JV Congress’: States Say EPA Waiver Gives Calif. too Much Power

Federal Litigation, Federal Regulation, Opinions, Policy

March 17, 2023

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by Lesley Clark (Politico Pro Climatewire) The 17 Republican-led states challenging California’s ability to set strict tailpipe emissions rules teed up their claims ahead of D.C. Circuit oral arguments in May.

Republican states challenging California’s decades-old right to set its own tailpipe emission standards are arguing that the practice unfairly allows a single state “to act as a junior-varsity Congress on an issue of immense national significance.”

In a Friday filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 17 Republican-led states argued that California’s Clean Air Act waiver violates other states’ constitutional rights and hits them in the pocketbook.

The Golden State’s ability to set standards stricter than those imposed by the federal government denies other states “equal sovereignty and forces them to spend more to purchase the many vehicles they need,” the brief says.

The D.C. Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments on California’s waiver May 1. Environmental attorneys say the case could eventually land at the Supreme Court amid a conservative push to challenge the limits of the executive branch (Climatewire, Jan. 31). READ MORE

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