By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S House of Representatives voted Thursday to bar California’s landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 that has been adopted by 11 other states.
The House backed legislation to repeal a waiver granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under former President Joe Biden in December, allowing California to mandate at least 80% electric vehicles by 2035. Major automakers had urged the action, saying the rules are not feasible. California says the rules are essential to cut pollution and contends the vote is illegal.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said the program reduces pollution and is critical to competing with China on EVs. “Big polluters and the right-wing propaganda machine have succeeded in buying off the Republican Party,” Newsom said.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota Volkswagen Hyundai and other major automakers had warned car companies could be “forced to substantially reduce the number of overall vehicles for sale to inflate their proportion of electric vehicles sales.”
The group’s CEO John Bozzella called the vote a “welcome – and targeted – action by the House to prevent the inevitable jobs and manufacturing fallout from these unachievable regulations.”
The California Air Resources Board rules have been adopted by another 11 states, including New York, Massachusetts and Oregon accounting for about 40% of the U.S. auto market.
The U.S. House separately on Wednesday voted to rescind the EPA’s 2023 approval of California’s plans to require a rising number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks and a waiver issued in December under former President Biden for California’s “Omnibus” low-NOx regulation for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines.
One issue remains whether Congress has the power to revoke any of the waivers using the Congressional Review Act. In March, the Government Accountability Office said the waivers cannot be repealed under the CRA, which only requires a majority of the U.S. Senate.
California’s rules require 35% of light-duty vehicles in the 2026 model year to be zero-emission models. Automakers say it is impossible for them to meet that figure given current EV sales, which are 10% or lower in some states adopting the rules. California says EVs must hit 68% of new vehicle sales by 2030.
The U.S. Transportation Department is separately moving to undo aggressive fuel economy rules adopted by Biden.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)
