Sponsors (3)
The bill eliminates federal penalties and compliance requirements for vehicle emissions—benefiting vehicle owners and industry and clearing past records—while shifting pollution, health harms, cleanup and enforcement costs to communities, taxpayers, and state/local governments and weakening incentives for cleaner vehicles.
Manufacturers, importers, and distributors face lower federal regulatory and compliance costs because federal installation/certification requirements for emissions controls are removed, reducing burden on small businesses and lowering some industry costs.
Vehicle owners and modifiers (including small businesses that customize or repair vehicles) can buy, use, or modify vehicles without risk of new federal civil or criminal penalties, protecting consumer and modifier freedoms.
Individuals with prior federal convictions or civil findings for removing or lacking emissions controls will have those penalties vacated and records expunged, restoring legal status and removing related federal collateral consequences.
Communities nationwide — especially rural populations and people with respiratory disabilities — will likely face worse air quality and higher rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses as more vehicles operate without emissions controls; vacating penalties may also reduce deterrence and encourage tampering.
Taxpayers and local economies could bear higher economic costs from increased pollution, including greater healthcare expenses, lost workdays, and environmental cleanup costs.
States and local governments may face increased regulatory and enforcement burdens (and associated costs) to control vehicle emissions previously handled at the federal level.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Eliminates federal requirements and enforcement of emissions control devices and onboard diagnostics on vehicles, voids related federal rules, shields private parties from federal liability, and expunges prior federal penalties.
Official title: Prohibit the enforcement of laws relating to the installation, certification, and maintenance of emissions control devices under the Clean Air Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced October 14, 2025 by Cynthia M. Lummis · Last progress October 14, 2025
This bill bans federal requirements that mandate emissions control devices or onboard diagnostic systems on motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines and prevents the EPA or other federal agencies from issuing or enforcing such rules. It voids existing federal regulations on these devices, bars federal civil and criminal liability for manufacturers, sellers, owners, and modifiers of vehicles lacking them, and requires vacatur of imprisonment penalties and expungement of federal records for past federal enforcement related to the prohibited conduct. The effect is to remove federal emissions-device and onboard-diagnostics mandates and protections tied to them, shifting regulatory authority and enforcement consequences away from the federal level and eliminating federal liability for covered parties for past and future conduct regarding these specific vehicle control systems.