- A group of 16 Republican AGs, led by Ohio AG Dave Yost, sent a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) urging it to not reinstate California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act, which the letter argues is unconstitutional.
- In the letter, the AGs urge the EPA to maintain the Trump administration’s Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (“SAFE”) Vehicles Rule, which revoked the waiver previously granted to California under the Clean Air Act and established nation-wide emissions standards. The waiver, if reinstated, will allow California to set new car emissions standards that are more stringent than the federal government’s standards, which the AGs argue is unconstitutional because it violates equal-sovereignty principles requiring all states to be treated equally.
- The letter notes that the waiver is not a mere technicality and argues that it provides California with an advantage that it can wield to extract concessions from car manufacturers.