On June 25, after seven hours of testimony and discussion via Zoom, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) unanimously adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule. Amendments to the rule language in May were a mixed bag, but overall made for stricter requirements. Positive amendments to the rule include the simplification of the one-time fleet reporting (due April 2021). ARB reduced the overall number of questions to just those necessary to assist staff in developing the upcoming fleet rule. Additionally, the facility reporting, which would have required large businesses of all kinds to report to ARB on delivery and other trucking services, was removed from the rule altogether. However these concessions were not enough to counterbalance the significant increases to the already ambitious zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) manufacturer’s sales goals that represent the meat of the rule. Following direction from the Board, ARB staff increased the percentage of zero-emission trucks that must be sold for each year on the schedule leading up to 2035; by then, 55% of Class 2b-3 trucks, 75% of Class 4-8 trucks, and 40% of Class 7-8 tractors sold must be ZEVs.

 

The decision to strengthen and ultimately pass this rule comes during a time when the world is still in the midst of a pandemic, economies are reeling, businesses are suffering financial loss and unemployment rates are at levels unseen since the Great Depression. In written comments submitted to CARB, CTA and ATA asked the Board to recognize the new reality that has developed over the past few months as the coronavirus has irrefutably changed the world. The letter requests the Board direct ARB staff to evaluate how these changes will impact the amended requirements of the proposed Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Rule and identify options for responding. “While the full scope of the economic impact from this sudden, unplanned shuttering of large swaths of commerce is yet to be fully understood, there are some clear warning signs already emerging,” the letter says; including that 38.6 million Americans have filed for unemployment since March; while California truck activity and freight demand spiked in March, ATRI shows a steady decline in both rates and demand; furloughs will occur as a result of declining revenues; and IHS estimates that 2020 Class 8 tractor sales will fall by 50% compared to 2019. How quickly the economy recovers is dependent upon many factors that cannot be easily predicted at this time and California’s revised budget, which forecasts a $54 million+ deficit through the 2020-2021 fiscal year, does not prioritize funding for ZEVs. Considering the imminent economic recession, the burdens on all businesses as they struggle to stay afloat in the aftermath of the pandemic, and the lack of ZEV incentive funding in the revised budget, CTA and ATA requested that the ARB Board and staff reevaluate their recent modifications to the ACT which would require ZE truck sales to outpace those in the well-established light-duty market. CTA participated in the June 25 hearing, during which CARB insisted that the impacts of COVID-19 were no reason to delay the rulemaking and voted to pass the ACT.