The New Jersey Business & Industry Association supports legislation that would delay the state’s compliance with California’s clean-engine rules for medium and heavy-duty trucks.
Garden State lawmakers introduced A-4967 and S-3817 last week. They require the state Department of Environmental Protection to delay the implementation of the Advanced Clean Trucks regulations until at least Jan. 1, 2027.
ACT regulations are currently scheduled to start on Jan. 1, 2025.
“As we forecasted when challenging the rule originally, the demand, affordability, and feasibility for the purchase of electric trucks in such a compressed time frame isn’t there for many businesses,” NJBIA Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor said in a release. “If this bill does not become law, or if alterations are not made to the Advanced Clean Truck rule as currently written, it will needlessly cost hundreds of millions of dollars for the trucking industry, it will decimate the logistics industry, including our ports, and those costs will be passed on to consumers.”
Last week, Massachusetts joined Oregon in delaying implementation of ACT regulations, which mirror the same rules the California Air Resources Board set. In New York, trucking stakeholders’ efforts to delay or amend the rule are also gaining traction, NJBIA said.
At the same time, attorneys general from 19 states and a coalition of stakeholders are challenging ACT in federal court.
