Petersen Announce EV Mandate Win against California

Senate President Warren Petersen has announced that a multi-state lawsuit against California has thwarted a rule mandating that any company delivering to California replace their entire diesel fleet with electric vehicles. The mandate, dubbed the “Advanced Clean Fleets” initiative, would have severely disrupted supply chains and added cost overruns amounting to $100K more for each vehicle, compared to the cost of the diesel models.

The suit, filed in May of 2024 by Nebraska’s Attorney General Mike Hilgers and the Nebraska Trucking Association, was then joined by Arizona and fifteen other states including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Petersen issued a press release on May 6, 2025, on the one-year anniversary of the suit, announcing that California had settled the case by repealing the mandate.

Petersen stated, “For years, California has operated with near impunity as its leaders passed unconstitutional regulations that brought great harms to Arizona consumers. In the absence of our Attorney General holding California accountable to the rule of law, the Arizona Legislature gladly stepped up to protect our citizens from this egregious abuse of power and emerged victorious.”

As a result of the win, California agreed to formally scrub the rule from its official record, also conceding that the state cannot enforce its 2-36 ban on the internal-combustion truck sales pending a Clean Air Act preemption waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

President Petersen has been party to 60 state and federal suits defending Arizona’s sovereignty and the rule of law.

He added, “We are grateful for the coalition of attorneys general who helped force California to capitulate from its misguided position on this illegal mandate, and we vow continued vigilance on behalf of the citizens we serve.”