The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to block California from using what it called an “illegal” electric vehicle mandate.
The suit, filed on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, argues that California’s regulations violate the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, a federal law that prohibits state mandates on fuel economy.
“California’s scheme would force carmakers to radically revamp their production lines nationwide to meet standards more stringent than the national standards adopted by NHTSA,” the DOJ said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Golden State policy raises prices for consumers.
“Oppressive, expensive electric vehicle mandates drive up costs for American consumers and violate federal law,” Bondi said. “California is using unlawful policies from the last administration to create exorbitant costs for our citizens.”
The lawsuit also marks what DOJ officials describe as a broader effort to challenge state regulations they argue interfere with the national auto market.
For more than a decade, California has enforced emissions regulations through the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Cars program.
In 2022, under Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), the board adopted Advanced Clean Cars II, requiring 100% of new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission by the 2035 model year.
The Biden Environmental Protection Agency granted California a waiver allowing the state to enforce the rule, along with stricter standards on heavy-duty vehicles and nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has taken steps to roll back the Biden-era provisions.
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In June, Trump filed three Congressional Review Acts targeting the Biden-era emission waivers. California and several other states quickly challenged those resolutions in their own lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Newsom also signed an executive order directing CARB to develop new zero-emission regulations while the legal battle plays out in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.