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Stops the Environmental Protection Agency from putting into effect or enforcing the April 22, 2024 final rule that sets new greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty vehicles (Phase 3). It also changes the Clean Air Act to prevent tailpipe-focused regulations from requiring a particular technology or from making certain engine types unavailable, and it requires the EPA to revise any existing regulations to follow this rule within two years of enactment. The effect is to block the Phase 3 heavy-duty vehicle greenhouse gas rule and to lock in a statutory restriction that tailpipe rules cannot functionally mandate specific propulsion technologies or exclude vehicle types based on engine type. EPA must update its rules to comply within a two-year deadline after this law takes effect.
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may not implement or enforce the Environmental Protection Agency final rule titled "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles—Phase 3" (89 Fed. Reg. 29440, April 22, 2024).
Amends section 202(a)(2) of the Clean Air Act to add a new subparagraph (B) that places limits on regulations prescribed under paragraph (1). The added subparagraph says such regulations (including revisions and those prescribed after January 1, 2021, and any regulation proposed after the date of enactment) shall not (i) mandate the use of any specific technology; or (ii) result in limited availability of new motor vehicles based on the type of new motor vehicle engine.
Specifies temporal and scope language: the prohibition applies to any regulation, including a revision to a regulation, prescribed under paragraph (1), including any regulation prescribed after January 1, 2021, and any regulation proposed after the date of enactment of this subparagraph.
Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate any revisions to regulations that are necessary to conform those regulations to the new subparagraph (B) added to section 202(a)(2). This action must be completed not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
Who is affected and how:
Heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers and assemblers: The prohibition on the Phase 3 rule and the ban on technology-specific requirements reduce the chance that manufacturers will be forced (by federal regulation) to design vehicles that rely on a particular propulsion technology. That may preserve options for internal combustion, hybrid, alternative-fuel, and electric truck designs but also creates uncertainty about a federal near-term regulatory trajectory.
Fleet operators and transportation service providers (including trucking companies and other freight carriers): Fleets may face a different compliance path than expected if emission standards tied to specific technologies would have required changes in vehicle purchases or fueling infrastructure. The law may slow adoption of technologies that fleets were preparing to deploy under the blocked rule.
Fuel and infrastructure providers: Providers planning investments in charging, hydrogen, or alternative-fuel infrastructure based on the rule's expectations may see those demand signals weakened or delayed.
Environmental and public health interests: By preventing enforcement of a heavy-duty GHG standard and limiting EPA’s ability to design technology-directed tailpipe rules, the legislation may slow reductions in greenhouse gas and tailpipe pollutant emissions that the blocked rule could have achieved, with potential consequences for air quality and climate targets.
EPA and federal regulatory process: EPA must revise affected regulations within two years, which imposes administrative work and could trigger legal or programmatic adjustments. The statute also reduces EPA flexibility to design standards that favor or rely on specific technologies.
Legal and market uncertainty: Manufacturers, fleets, investors, and state regulators may face uncertainty about federal requirements, which can affect planning, capital investment, and state-level policy interaction. Some states set their own vehicle standards; this federal constraint could lead to mismatches between state and federal approaches.
Overall, the bill primarily shifts the regulatory path for heavy-duty vehicle greenhouse gas and tailpipe rules away from technology-specific mandates, preserving broader technology-neutral options but likely slowing or altering anticipated federal-driven technology transitions and associated emissions reductions.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced March 12, 2025 by Daniel Scott Sullivan · Last progress March 12, 2025
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate