California is moving forward with plans to sue the federal government to restore its authority to set its own vehicle emissions standards, following a Senate vote that revoked the state’s waiver to institute stricter regulations. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the pending litigation in response to Thursday’s Senate vote, where Republicans led a 51-44 decision to terminate the state’s special waiver, a long-standing arrangement allowing California to establish tougher air pollution controls than the federal government.
This decision marks a significant shift, as California has historically been granted over 100 such waivers spanning five decades. Bonta described the action by Senate Republicans as a politicized misuse of the Congressional Review Act (CRA), asserting that California’s authority to set rigorous environmental standards was being unjustly targeted. “The weaponization of the Congressional Review Act to attack California’s waivers is just another part of the continuous, partisan campaign against California’s efforts to protect the public and the planet from harmful pollution,” he stated. He vowed that the state would not remain passive, signaling an imminent legal challenge.
Sixteen other states, along with the District of Columbia, also adhere to California’s vehicle emissions standards, many of them already having comprehensive plans in place for phasing out fossil fuel-powered vehicles. Under the revoked emissions waiver, California was due to implement progressively more stringent sales mandates for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) starting in 2026. The standard was intended to culminate in 2035, when carmakers selling vehicles in California would be required to offer only zero-emission models. Currently, two technologies meet this zero-emission definition: battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, although EVs have become the predominant solution due to the infrastructure and efficiency challenges associated with hydrogen technologies.
In 2023, zero-emission vehicles represented 25.3% of new light-duty vehicle sales in California, nearly all of which were battery electric vehicles. By 2026, under the state’s mandate, automakers were expected to reach 35% of new vehicle sales with zero-emission models—a goal that some companies have argued is unachievable within the given timeframe.
Senate Republicans’ recent vote notably went against both the advice of the Senate parliamentarian and guidance from the Government Accountability Office, each of whom had indicated that the waiver could not legally be overturned via the Congressional Review Act. The CRA allows senators a streamlined voting process—requiring a simple majority without the threat of filibuster—to overturn federal regulations.
The state’s top officials had previously anticipated the possibility of Republican lawmakers employing the CRA to invalidate California’s longstanding emissions rules, and Attorney General Bonta publicly expressed readiness earlier this year to address the matter through legal avenues if required.
