MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Wednesday pushed back against the notion that this state's drivers won't be able to buy new gasoline-powered cars 12 years from now. Regulators say Minnesota's Clean Car Rules won't automatically force the state to adopt the ban recently enacted in California.
Talk of a possible Minnesota ban began last week when the California Air Resources Board voted to begin phasing out gasoline-burning vehicles, putting the Golden State on track to bar the sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
Minnesota in 2021 adopted California's higher emissions standards, which will force automakers to make more electric zero emissions vehicles, or ZEVs, available to dealers in this state beginning with model year 2025. That model year is set to begin in late 2024.
The MPCA said Wednesday that Minnesota won't automatically follow California's pathway to a ban.
"Minnesota’s clean car standards will remain in effect through model year 2025, which generally starts on Jan. 2, 2024, and ends when model year 2025 vehicles are no longer being sold as new vehicles," the MPCA statement read.
"If we don’t conduct another rulemaking, then the federal standards will apply for new vehicles sold in Minnesota starting with model year 2026."
The agency said the Clean Car Rules were adopted in anticipation that the California standards would rise until 2025 and remain on a plateau until 2034. But, because California adopted tougher standards last week, Minnesota's new rules will only be effect for model year 2025.
Scott Lambert, executive director of the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association, said he disagrees with MPCA's reading of how the California ban will impact Minnesota.
"The governor and the state cannot pick pieces of the rule they want to enforce and pieces they don't," Lambert told KARE 11.
"Under federal law if Minnesota is going to stay as a California state, then they have to accept the ban. Either you're in the California program or you're not in the California program."
Making the switch
Minnesota is one of 14 states that have switched from the regular federal low emissions standards to the stricter California emissions standards. Automakers must sell a certain percentage of electric vehicles in order to meet the statewide fleet average for tailpipe emissions.
The auto dealers' group has campaigned hard against the idea, saying it will wreak havoc on dealers and consumers alike. MADA has argued that dealers will be forced to buy expensive electric vehicles and have less room on their lots for vehicles that are more in demand here.
MADA has sued the state in an effort to sideline the Clean Car Rules before they take effect, arguing that Minnesota doesn't have enough critical air pollution to trigger stricter emissions. The car dealers have also asserted in court, in a case that's still pending, that it violates to state constitution to have California regulators set the rules for Minnesota tailpipe emissions.
The MPCA predicted that electric vehicles would need to account for 6 to 7% of all new cars sold in Minnesota between 2025 and 2034, in order for automakers to meet the new air quality standards. Currently, only about 2% of cars sold in Minnesota are electric.
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The National Corn Growers Association said it was disturbed by California's move because of the impact on clean-burning ethanol produced by American farmers. The Minnesota Corn Growers Wednesday echoed that sentiment.
But that industry group's press release acknowledged that a ban on gas burning cars won't be automatic in Minnesota, and that leaders and policymakers would be in charge.
Political hot button
Republican state lawmakers have railed against the Clean Car Rules since they were first proposed, asserting that the mix of automobiles sold in Minnesota should be determined by market forces rather than state mandates. They're also unhappy that the emissions standards weren't set by the legislature.
Governor Walz has noted that the legislature gave the MPCA the authority to set clean air standards in the state 50 years ago, and that most states that have switched to California's standards have done it through administrative rulemaking.
That process requires publication of the proposed rules and a lengthy public input process. The governor launched the proposal in the fall of 2019, and in May of 2021 Administrative Law Judge Jessica Palmer-Denig issued a ruling that the proposal was reasonable and necessary to meet the state's greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Her rulemaking document included a rebuttal comment by the MPCA, rejecting the notion that California would be in complete control of emissions in Minnesota.
"New standards adopted by California would not automatically be included in Minnesota’s rules, and a decision to adopt a new standard or revert back to the federal standards would need to be made on a case-by-case basis. The MPCA retains its authority to review new standards and determine whether they should be adopted. Therefore, the MPCA has not unlawfully ceded its rulemaking authority to California."
The same year MPCA Commissioner Laura Bishop resigned because the Republican-controlled Senate had made it clear she would be fired the next day, in part because of the Clean Cars Rules.
Dr. Scott Jensen, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, has sharply criticized Walz about the emissions standards and has pledged to undo the rule if he's elected in November.
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