Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.

California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards; Advanced Clean Cars II; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision rule (2025)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
New Administrative State Banner.png
What is a significant rule?

Significant regulatory action is a term used to describe an agency rule that has had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. As part of its role in the regulatory review process, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) determines which rules meet this definition.


California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards; Advanced Clean Cars II; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Action: Agency decision
Res. of disapproval status: Signed into law
Type: Not deemed significant
Federal code: EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0292; FRL-11010-02-OAR
Estimated cost:[1] $0
Estimated benefit:[1] $0
Policy topics: Environmental regulation

The California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards decision is a decision issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designed to go into effect on January 6, 2025, that grants various California emissions standards an exemption from federal preemption.[2]

President Donald Trump (R) signed a resolution of disapproval on June 12, 2025, to repeal the rule.

Timeline

The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:

View all

Background

Administrative State
Administrative State Icon Gold.png
Five Pillars of the Administrative State
•Agency control
• Executive control
• Judicial control
•Legislative control
• Public Control
Click here for more coverage of the administrative state on Ballotpedia.
Click here to access Ballotpedia's administrative state legislation tracker.

Under the Clean Air Act, EPA emissions regulations preempt state-level regulations, with the specific exception of California regulations (and identical regulations from other states) for which the EPA may grant a waiver. This decision responded to a request by the California Air Resources Board for a waiver to apply state-level standards that were generally more stringent than federal-level standards, and granted these requests. In April 2025, resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act were introduced in both houses of Congress, despite non-binding determinations by the Government Accountability Office and Senate Parliamentarian that EPA waiver decisions of this type are not subject to the Congressional Review Act.[5] On May 21, 2025, the Senate voted to consider the resolution of disapproval passed by the House of Representatives, overruling the Senate Parliamentarian.[6] On May 22, 2025, the Senate passed the resolution of disapproval.

Congressional Review Act

See also: Congressional Review Act

Under the CRA, Congress can nullify recent administrative rules if both the House and the Senate pass a joint resolution of disapproval by a simple majority and the President signs it.

Summary of the rule

The following is a summary of the decision from the decision's entry in the Federal Register:[2]

“ The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is providing notice of its decision granting the California Air Resources Board's (“CARB's”) request for a waiver of Clean Air Act preemption for its Advanced Clean Cars II (“ACC II”) regulations.[7] ”

Summary of provisions

The following is a summary of the provisions from the decision's entry in the Federal Register:[2]

“ Section 209(b) of the Act provides that the Administrator, after notice and opportunity for public hearing, shall waive Federal preemption for California to enforce new motor vehicle emission standards and accompanying enforcement procedures unless certain criteria are met. The criteria for denying such a waiver include consideration of whether California arbitrarily and capriciously determined that its standards are, in the aggregate, at least as protective of public health and welfare as the applicable Federal standards; whether California does not need such State standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions; and whether such State standards and accompanying enforcement procedures are not consistent with section 202(a) of the Act.[7] ”

Responses to resolution of disapproval

Supporting the decision

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D) opposed the resolution of disapproval, saying that "we’re gratified that the Senate parliamentarian followed decades of precedent showing that California’s Clean Air Act waivers are not subject to the Congressional Review Act."[5]

Opposing the decision

Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R) supported the resolution of disapproval, saying that "The American people have made it clear that they want consumer choice – not an EV mandate. I will continue to address all options available to strike down these rules and eliminate the consequential impact they would make across our country."[5]

Significant impact

See also: Significant regulatory action

Executive Order 12866, issued by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993, directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine which agency rules qualify as significant rules and thus are subject to OMB review.

Significant rules have had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. Executive Order 12866 further defined an economically significant rule as a significant rule with an associated economic impact of $100 million or more. E.O. 14215, issued on February 18, 2025, by President Donald Trump (R), required independent agencies to comply with all aspects of OMB review, including review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).[2]

The text of the decision states that OMB deemed this decision not significant:

“ As with past waiver decisions, this action is not a rule as defined by Executive Order 12866. Therefore, it is exempt from review by the Office of Management and Budget as required for rules and regulations by Executive Order 12866.[7] ”

Text of the rule

The full text of the rule is available below:[2]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Note: Estimated costs and estimated benefits here refer to estimated quantitative costs represented by dollar amounts. The estimates are a required part of the rulemaking process and are provided in the rule text. For qualitative costs or benefits, see the summaries of rule purpose and provisions.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Federal Register, California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards; Advanced Clean Cars II; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision, accessed May 13, 2025
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Congress.gov, "House Joint Resolution 88", accessed May 13, 2025
  4. ↑ Congress.gov, "Senate Joint Resolution 45", accessed May 13, 2025
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Hill, Senate parliamentarian says lawmakers can’t overturn California car rules — but Republicans may try anyway, accessed May 13, 2025
  6. ↑ NPR, "Senate overrules parliamentarian and votes to undo California EV rule," May 22, 2025, accessed May 22, 2025
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
v • e
The Administrative State
MainThe Administrative State Project Badge.png
Pillars
Reporting
Laws
Administrative Procedure Act • Antiquities Act • Civil Service Reform Act • Clayton Antitrust Act • Communications Act of 1934 • Congressional Review Act • Electronic Freedom of Information Act • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 • Federal Housekeeping Statute • Federal Reserve Act • Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 • Freedom of Information Act • Government in the Sunshine Act • Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 • Information Quality Act • Interstate Commerce Act • National Labor Relations Act • Paperwork Reduction Act • Pendleton Act • Privacy Act of 1974 • Regulatory Flexibility Act • REINS Act • REINS Act (Wisconsin) • Securities Act of 1933 • Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • Sherman Antitrust Act • Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act • Truth in Regulating Act • Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Cases
Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner • A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States • Association of Data Processing Service Organizations v. Camp • Auer v. Robbins • Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Standard Oil Company of California • Field v. Clark • Food and Drug Administration v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation • Humphrey's Executor v. United States • Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. Chadha • J.W. Hampton Jr. & Company v. United States • Lucia v. SEC • Marshall v. Barlow's • Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency • Mistretta v. United States • National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. Sebelius • National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning Company • National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. • Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan • Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corporation • Skidmore v. Swift & Co. • United States v. Lopez • United States v. Western Pacific Railroad Co. • Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board • Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council • Wayman v. Southard • Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service • Whitman v. American Trucking Associations • Wickard v. Filburn • Wiener v. United States
Terms
Adjudication (administrative state) • Administrative judge • Administrative law • Administrative law judge • Administrative state • Arbitrary-or-capricious test • Auer deference • Barrier to entry • Bootleggers and Baptists • Chevron deference (doctrine) • Civil servant • Civil service • Code of Federal Regulations • Codify (administrative state) • Comment period • Compliance costs • Congressional Record • Coordination (administrative state) • Deference (administrative state) • Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) • Enabling statute • Ex parte communication (administrative state) • Executive agency • Federal law • Federal Register • Federalism • Final rule • Formal rulemaking • Formalism (law) • Functionalism (law) • Guidance (administrative state) • Hybrid rulemaking • Incorporation by reference • Independent federal agency • Informal rulemaking • Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) • Major rule • Negotiated rulemaking • Nondelegation doctrine • OIRA prompt letter • Organic statute • Pragmatism (law) • Precautionary principle • Promulgate • Proposed rule • Publication rulemaking • Regulatory budget • Regulatory capture • Regulatory dark matter • Regulatory impact analysis • Regulatory policy officer • Regulatory reform officer • Regulatory review • Rent seeking • Retrospective regulatory review • Risk assessment (administrative state) • Rulemaking • Separation of powers • Significant regulatory action • Skidmore deference • Statutory authority • Substantive law and procedural law • Sue and settle • Sunset provision • Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions • United States Code • United States Statutes at Large
Bibliography
Agencies
Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=California_State_Motor_Vehicle_and_Engine_Pollution_Control_Standards;_Advanced_Clean_Cars_II;_Waiver_of_Preemption;_Notice_of_Decision_rule_(2025)&oldid=10411063"