House Republicans, joined by a few Democrats, voted on Wednesday to stop California from requiring dealers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles over time and to block an effort to reduce smog.
The two votes were the first of several planned by congressional Republicans that threaten California’s longstanding authority to set state pollution standards stricter than federal ones.
On Thursday, the House is expected to vote on whether to block California from implementing what is widely considered the most ambitious climate policy in the nation: a ban on the sale of gasoline-powered automobiles by 2035.
Eleven other states have adopted California’s ban, which means that if it goes into effect, it could shift the entire U.S. auto industry toward electric vehicles and accelerate a global transition.
“California should not be allowed to dictate national policy,” Representative John Joyce, Republican of Pennsylvania, said on Monday, arguing for the repeal of California’s policies.
Action on the measures now moves to the Senate.
Under the 1970 Clean Air Act, California can receive waivers to enact clean air standards tougher than those set by the federal government because historically it has had the most polluted air in the nation. Federal law also allows other states to adopt California’s standards as their own, under certain circumstances.
