The Oregon House Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment held a public hearing last week on House Bill 3119, a bipartisan bill that would delay Oregon's electric vehicle (EV) mandate on medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

Oregon's Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule went into effect Jan. 1, and while the rules do not ban sales of diesel engines, they do require that upwards of 11% truck sales in the state be zero emission vehicles over a graduated period. 

Daimler Truck North America in mid-January briefly paused sales of combustion engines in the state, citing uncertainty around ACT.

House Bill 3119 would delay the implementation of these rules by two years, and "prohibits the Department of Environmental Quality from implementing or enforcing the Advanced Clean Trucks regulations before January 1, 2027," to give Oregon more time to build out the charging infrastructure these regulations would require and give technology more time to advance.

"Oregonians are frustrated with our cost of living," said Representative Shelly Boshart Davis (R, Albany). "These regulations are not only unattainable, they will only fuel price increases in every sector of our economy. In some cases, they require manufacturers to sell products that don't yet exist. Class 8 EV tractor trucks cost twice as much, haul 25% less, and can travel only about half the distance. The math doesn't math."

Boshart Davis called the bill "an easy solution – it's a layup," noting the state has a chance to delay rules that require Oregon businesses "to sell products that don't exist, without support, and that people don't want. If they did, these mandates wouldn't be needed. To use a transportation metaphor, these rules put the cart before the horse."

Written testimony in favor of the bill outnumbered those opposed by nearly a 4:1 margin, according to the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS).

The future of zero emission trucking

Oregon is one of 10 states that have opted to adopt California’s ACT standards for large trucks, but mandated or not, zero emission solutions face uncertainty ahead. 

All trucking OEMs have put zero emission units into the market, but these trucks continue to make up a sliver of truck production and the regulatory climate is changing. 

President Donald Trump, routinely attacking Joe Biden's Green New Deal plan, has pledged to take a more business-friendly stance in considering emissions policies and Lee Zeldin, Trump's pick to oversee the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to push deregulation at the EPA, having pledged to "ensure we are protecting the environment while also protecting our economy," at his hearing. 

The U.S. Senate last week confirmed Sean Duffy to become the Secretary of Transportation and almost immediately signed a memorandum directing staff to start the process of resetting Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which will eliminate the electric vehicle mandate on passenger cars. 

Big trucks in 2027 face tighter federal emissions controls, and while Greenhouse Gas Phase 3 does not mandate battery electric trucks, it has been the target of litigation since its passage in April 2024 and likely faces scrutiny from the Trump/Zeldin EPA. 

Source : https://www.ccjdigital.com/regulations/emissions/article/15736328/oregon-seeks-delay-of-electric-truck-mandate