1701 K St, Lincoln, NE 68508
2024 PRESS RELEASE
Nebraska Trucking Association Joins Coalition in Lawsuit to Stop California Electric Truck Mandates
Lincoln, NE – Today, the Nebraska Trucking Association (NTA) joined a group of 17 state governments in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California that seeks to block a package of regulations targeting trucking fleets and owner operators. The lawsuit is led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers.
The goals of the lawsuit are outlined in a news release from the Nebraska Attorney General. It challenges a suite of California regulations called Advanced Clean Fleets. Advanced Clean Fleets requires certain trucking fleet owners and operators to retire internal-combustion trucks and transition to more expensive and less efficient electric trucks. The rule applies to fleets that are headquartered outside of California if they operate within California. Given California’s large population and access to ports for international trade, this regulation will have significant nationwide effects on the supply chain.
The Nebraska Attorney General is also leading a separate lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to challenge the Biden Administration’s new regulation of emissions from heavy-duty vehicles. That lawsuit involves a 24-state coalition.
In his news release, Hilgers said, “California and an unaccountable EPA are trying to transform our national trucking industry and supply chain infrastructure. This effort—coming at a time of heightened inflation and with an already-strained electrical grid—will devastate the trucking and logistics industry, raise prices for customers, and impact untold number of jobs across Nebraska and the country. Neither California nor the EPA has the constitutional power to dictate these nationwide rules to Americans. I am proud to lead our efforts to stop these unconstitutional attempts to remake our economy and am grateful to our sister states for joining our coalitions.”
“The Nebraska Trucking Association is honored to stand up for trucking in this effort,” said NTA President and CEO, Kent Grisham. “Not only are we engaging in the legal fight to bring reasonableness and common sense to the discussion about emissions reductions, but we’re also taking this opportunity to raise awareness of how much progress our industry has already made in environmental protection. We are moving freight like never before, and we’re doing so with diesel-engine trucks that are at near zero emissions. No other industry is making so much progress so quickly. What we don’t need are politically motivated mandates that will actually set our efforts back.”
Both lawsuits argue that the Biden Administration and California regulators have exceeded their constitutional and statutory authority in attempting to force the entire country to transition to electric trucks. In addition to their legal flaws, both regulations defy reality. Electric trucks are inefficient and costly and will harm citizens of Nebraska by increasing the costs of interstate transportation, raising prices for goods, and burdening the electric power grid.
In addition to Attorney General Hilgers and the NTA, attorneys general from the following states joined the lawsuit against California regulators: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Arizona State Legislature joined the lawsuit as well.
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Nebraska Attorney General ShareFile link to be updated with court filings and video.
Contact:
Kent Grisham
NTA President & CEO
(O) 402-476-8504, Ext. 103
(M) 402-650-3859
[email protected]
The Nebraska Trucking Association (NTA) is the statewide trade association for commercial trucks and affiliated businesses. NTA delivers the essential knowledge, contacts, services, political representation, and partnerships that help our members continue to deliver the goods to Nebraska communities and throughout North America.