Senate President Warren Petersen has initiated legal action against the Biden Administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of California, accusing them of overstepping their authority with "radical and costly" electric vehicle mandates. Petersen asserts that these mandates will have a significant financial impact on Arizonans and pose a threat to the state's power supply.
The legal action was filed in conjunction with House Speaker Ben Toma and the Arizona Trucking Association. The parties submitted two lawsuits to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, aiming to halt recently adopted rules by the EPA. These rules are part of Biden's climate change agenda, which necessitates a swift transition from gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles. The regulations are expected to drastically alter the nation's automotive industry and cost billions of dollars to implement.
According to these rules, by 2032 nearly 70% of all new vehicles and 25% of all new semitrucks or similar heavy-duty vehicles sold in the United States must be electric. Petersen argues that this will increase costs for Arizonans without adequate charging infrastructure or necessary power grid capacity.
In addition, the Arizona Legislature joined 16 states in a third lawsuit filed against California. This suit challenges a new rule requiring trucking operators to purchase expensive electric trucks and retire their diesel-fueled models, which can cost over $100,000 more per electric truck.
"These rules exceed the EPA's statutory authority, are arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion," said Senate President Warren Petersen. He also criticized Democrats' climate change agenda for imposing "expensive and unattainable goals" on the automotive and trucking industries.
Tony Bradley, President & CEO of the Arizona Trucking Association echoed these sentiments stating that "the EPA's tailpipe emissions rules prioritize politics over science," while adding that they pose a threat to public health by inflating the cost of essential goods.
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