U.S. Legislative News

Trump Administration Proposes Freezing Fuel Economy Standards

On August 2, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and fuel economy (CAFE) standards for passenger vehicles for model years 2021 to 2026. The Administration’s proposed rule would freeze the vehicle fuel economy and emissions standards at 2020 levels for model years 2021 to 2026, requiring automakers to produce vehicles with an average fuel economy of 37 miles per gallon (mpg) through the model year 2025. The rule would also revoke the waiver granted to California to establish more stringent standards for vehicle emissions, as well as the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulation. Nine other states have adopted the ZEV Regulation, and 13 states and DC have adopted the California emission standards.

EPA and NHTSA first issued standards to decrease GHG emissions and improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks annually from 2017 through 2025, culminating in a corporate average fuel economy of 54.5 mpg, in 2012.

Carmakers have called on the Trump administration to continue to increase CAFE standards and to maintain one national program. The new proposal rejects this, in addition to setting up a nasty legal battle with California, meaning potentially years of regulatory uncertainty for an industry already starting to design future cars.

The proposed rule contains eight scenarios for public comment, including the Trump Administration’s preferred option to freeze the standards at 2020 levels through 2026. There is a 60 day public comment period, and the agencies will hold three public hearings on the proposed rule.

 

EPA Reverses Course, Will Enforce Limit on Glider Kits

On July 26, 2018, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Andrew Wheeler, announced that the agency would withdraw a decision to lift strict sales limits on the number of trucks built with glider kits produced annually. Glider trucks are a combination of new truck bodies with older engines. While often used to rebuild vehicles after accidents, they can also be used to avoid emissions regulations. Further, glider trucks emit up to 450 times more diesel particulate matter and up to 40 times more smog-forming nitrogen oxides than new trucks on the market, the EPA has said.

The cap of 300 gliders a year per manufacturer was included in the Phase 2 greenhouse gas regulation for heavy- and medium-duty trucks announced in 2016. However, citing regulatory overreach of the Obama Administration, outgoing EPA Chief Scott Pruitt in early July lifted the cap on gliders at least through 2020 in his final week at the agency. Almost immediately, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a temporary injunction blocking EPA's move after it was challenged by environmental groups. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia had filed a separate suit against EPA over the glider decision.

A spokesman for the EPA says the agency is still working to produce a rule to rescind the glider-specific regulations within Phase 2, which would lift the 300-truck cap and allow glider manufacturers to resume normal operations. The agency says it “will continue to work expeditiously to finalize a solution that provides regulatory relief and prevents any inadvertent economic harm to the glider industry while maintaining important air quality protections.”

 

New Report: Automated Vehicles Will Create a Shift in Workforce Demands

According to a new report by the American Center for Mobility (ACM), the rise of driverless cars would affect “only a modest number of truck driver jobs, if any, over the next 10 years.” The report’s authors contend that the new technology could actually help create jobs in engineering, data analysis, cybersecurity and other areas.

The report does, however, suggest a substantial change to the way workers in many industries do their jobs, in some instances radically. The research indicates motor vehicle manufacturers and technology firms working in the automated vehicle arena are already finding it difficult to hire enough workers with certain technology skillsets; and as automated vehicles begin to proliferate, maintenance and certain adjacent occupations will need to evolve and expand.

Based on the report’s findings, ACM and the study authors recommend the following steps be taken:

• Conduct additional research that captures the input of the vehicle operators in different workforce sectors on what training they would be interested in pursuing
• Identify in greater detail the specific skill sets needed by the automotive and technology industries to facilitate the creation and adoption of automated vehicles
• Establish rapid coursework and training that meets those specific needs
• Conduct additional research to quantify the overall positive financial impact of automated vehicle technology on the economy as a whole, and the potential for job creation

The report was commissioned by ACM, led by Michigan State University and supported by Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The research was funded by ACM, Waymo, AARP, and the Toyota Research Institute.