FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BARRE, VT (May 14, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Vermont is applauding Governor Phil Scott’s executive order (04-25) to postpone enforcement of the Advanced Clean Trucks, Heavy Duty Engine and Vehicle Omnibus, and Advanced Clean Cars II regulations. This suite of mandates originated from the California Air Resources Board and were adopted by Vermont in 2022.

“Vermont small business owners are grateful to Governor Scott for pumping the brakes on the California Cars and Trucks mandates,” said John Reynolds, state director for NFIB in Vermont. “These electric vehicle mandates impose arbitrary and unrealistic timelines that do not align with current demand or technology and will raise costs and limit choices for consumers and small businesses across the state. This should serve as a cautionary tale for policymakers to fully understand the cost and feasibility of climate mitigation strategies before forcing them on Vermonters.”

Even without the California Cars and Trucks Mandates, the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) reports that the state’s air quality is “very good” and that ground-level ozone and particulate matter emissions declined substantially between 2000 and 2020. Major improvements in vehicle engines and fuel quality since the 1960s have resulted in cleaner air. Per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, vehicle emissions “are projected to be reduced by 80 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels.

“Despite Gov. Scott’s executive order, Vermont taxpayers remain vulnerable to the California Cars and Trucks mandates and other court-ordered greenhouse gas emissions programs under the private right of action in the Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). The “right to sue” clause permits anyone to sue the state to enforce the greenhouse gas emissions reduction mandates in the GWSA, and grants petitioners the ability to recover their legal and court costs from Vermont taxpayers.

“The Vermont Legislature should follow up on this pause by preventing state regulators from adopting additional California vehicle regulations without legislative approval and repealing the taxpayer-funded ‘right to sue’ clause in the Global Warming Solutions Act,” added Reynolds. “Decisions that involve billions in taxpayer funds and impact the affordability and reliability of goods, services, and energy belong with policymakers who are accountable to Vermonters, not with special interests, lawyers and judges.”

NFIB Vermont supports legislation, including S.101 and S.110, to prevent regulators from adopting California vehicle regulations without legislative approval, repeal the GWSA’s “right to sue” clause, and give the state flexibility in meeting the GWSA emission reduction targets.

###

For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.