California air quality regulators on Thursday repealed the state’s zero-emission mandate for private vehicle fleets and delayed purchasing rules for publicly owned fleets amid concerns they could hamper emergency response efforts.
What happened: The California Air Resources Board’s unanimous vote to repeal the Advanced Clean Fleets rules for private companies was a formality, after the agency failed to secure permission to enforce its stricter-than-federal vehicle rules before President Donald Trump took office.
But California still has the authority to apply the rule to in-state public agencies, which currently have to ensure at least half of their new-vehicle purchases are zero-emission. CARB also voted Thursday to push back the 100 percent ZEV requirement for public fleets from 2027 to 2030.
That delay is intended to enable state and local agencies, such as electricity providers and water districts, to continue purchasing internal combustion engine models of specialized vehicles used for infrastructure repair during emergencies and natural disasters.
