West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has joined a lawsuit with 16 other states to challenge a decision from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The suit is led by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Under the Clean Air Act, California can request a waiver to enact its own vehicle emission standards. The lawsuit alleges California will be able to impose its Advanced Clean Cars program, with emission standards that are more stringent than those adopted by the federal government, on all new motor vehicles in the country.
The EPA announced on March 9 that California’s waiver would be reinstated after a previous waiver was withdrawn in 2019.
“The Act simply leaves California with a slice of its sovereign authority that Congress withdraws from every other state,” Attorney General Morrisey said in a press release.
The lawsuit argues this “special treatment” is unconstitutional.
This is the second national lawsuit Morrisey joined this week. On Monday he joined a lawsuit challenging a Biden administration rule on asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Morrisey is also challenging the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act. The U.S. Supreme Court will rule in that case, West Virginia v. EPA, next month.