The Minnesota Senate is moving legislation that would strip back the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) ability to set clean air standards without legislative approval. The bill would also require a study to determine the economic impact California’s emission standards would have on Minnesota.  The “Clean Car Minnesota Proposal” was recently presented to the legislature by the MPCA, it mandates that vehicle manufacturers and sellers provide passenger vehicles that meet air pollution emissions standards, as well as a certain number of ultra-low or zero-emission vehicles.

“With its rulemaking authority, the MPCA is circumventing the state of Minnesota, its citizens, and the Legislature, to advance its costly political agenda at the expense of hardworking residents across Greater Minnesota,” said Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria). “Governor Walz championed the concept of ‘One Minnesota’ as he ran for office, but his administrative policies since have been anything but that. This proposal unfairly targets residents in the rural part of the state, burdening them because they use trucks for their work or because they live a bit further outside of town.”

“If Minnesota wants to consider these standards, it should be done through the legislature, not as an administrative mandate,” continued Senator Ingebrigtsen. “I’m disappointed that Governor Walz thought it prudent to make this a unilateral decision. Furthermore, people in my district do not want to be compared, in any fashion, to California.”