OPINION:
Gavin Newsom will now decide what kind of car you’re allowed to drive. The Environmental Protection Agency last week granted California’s Democratic governor the power to forbid consumers from buying gasoline-powered vehicles across 18 states and territories — including Maryland, Virginia and the District.
Beginning next year, 40% of new cars sold in the U.S. will fall under Soviet-style production quotas set by government bureaus in Sacramento. The Biden administration is letting California make it a crime to sell too many of the conventional automobiles that Americans prefer. For model year 2026, the quota is 35% of car sales in affected states must be electric. The target increases by roughly 8% each year until it reaches 100% in 2035.
President-elect Donald Trump promises to revoke the waiver so that Californians no longer design the country’s cars, but overturning federal red tape invites the mischief of activist federal judges, who will do their best to drag out the process.
Bureaucrats at the California Air Resources Board assure us their actions are motivated by environmental justice: “The impacts of climate change and air pollution affect all Californians, but residents in frontline communities are especially vulnerable and often face the most severe impacts.”
Hopefully, these “frontline communities” have lots of money, because they’ll be paying a premium for the privilege of plugging in their short-range, social justice vehicles. The Golden State’s irrational attachment to windmills and solar panels has created one of the most inefficient and blackout-prone power grids in the nation, and it will cost even more to cope with the increased demand for power.
According to a study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the state must upgrade two-thirds of its feeder infrastructure at a cost of $20 billion to have a chance at dealing with the rising load. Every other state that has adopted California emissions standards will face a similar crunch.
On top of that, state officials estimated $210 billion in implementation costs — likely an underestimate. If President Biden cared about “democracy” as much as he has claimed in the past, he would have directed the EPA to hold off on implementing such a major policy given the public’s insistence on a change of management in Washington.
Mr. Trump blocked California’s EPA waiver in his first term, only for it to be revived by Mr. Biden. It’s time to break that back-and-forth cycle and drive a stake into this foolhardy social experiment once and for all.
Congress must adopt legislation requiring explicit congressional approval for major rules, and something that will cost $210 billion certainly qualifies. Put members who want to forbid people from buying the cars they want on the record. Don’t allow them to cede the decision to the unaccountable EPA and then to an even less accountable bureaucracy in Sacramento.
There’s nothing squishy lawmakers hate more than having to vote on divisive topics, as doing so can be hazardous to their reelection prospects. This is why federal agencies should stop making critical policy choices on behalf of the country.
Another option is to use the Congressional Review Act. The GOP trashed 16 rules put in place by Barack Obama before the 60-day time limit for action expired in 2017. A rule deep-sixed through this process cannot be reintroduced.
With these steps, we’ll be able to buy the cars we want, not the cars Mr. Newsom thinks are better for the planet.
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