WHEREAS, Congress first established Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards through the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975; and

WHEREAS, the CAFE standards were implemented largely in response to the 1973 oil embargo in an effort to reduce foreign imports of petroleum; and

WHEREAS, the CAFE standards are now a relic of a disproven narrative of resource scarcity, as the United States is currently poised to become the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world and a net exporter of energy; and

WHEREAS, as originally enacted, Congress authorized one regulator – the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – to carry out the program; and

WHEREAS, under the Obama administration, two federal agencies (NHTSA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and one State agency (the California Air Resources Board) were jointly placed in charge of our nation’s fuel economy standards under “One National Program”; and

WHEREAS, under this construct, California was given significantly disproportionate influence in the setting of national fuel economy standards relative to the other 49 United States; and

WHEREAS, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 makes clear that no State may “adopt or enforce a law or regulation related to fuel economy standards” when a Federal average fuel economy standard is in effect; and

WHEREAS, it is contrary to federalism to tolerate an approach in which one State has a unique and disproportionate impact on the creation and implementation of any national standard; and

WHEREAS, the existing CAFE mandates, if left unaltered, are likely to increase the cost of an average new vehicle by several thousand dollars, thus pricing millions of Americans – particularly the economically disadvantaged – out of the new car market entirely; and

WHEREAS, a fundamental question associated with the current fuel economy mandates is whether American families should be allowed to determine for themselves which types of vehicles they may purchase and drive, or if unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, California should be allowed to make that determination; and

WHEREAS, freedom of choice and free markets represent foundational, cornerstone principles of the American way of life and governance in the United States, and are necessary to ensure that American families, farmers, truckers, and businesses are able to purchase, drive, and repair the cars, trucks, and other vehicles that meet their specific and individual needs; and

WHEREAS, current Federal fuel economy mandates are representative of the kinds of regulations that limit – rather than encourage – freedom of choice, free markets, and the ability of individuals to make decisions regarding what kinds of vehicles best meet their own needs;

NOW THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED, that the State of [NAME OF STATE] fully supports the process being jointly undertaken by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider the augural Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and the Final Determination of the Mid-Term Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions standards for model year 2022-2025 light-duty vehicles, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the State of [STATE] opposes the Federal government continuing to grant California an outsized role in determining vehicle fuel economy standards for the other 49 United States.