On Wednesday, the Natural Resources Policy and Legacy Finance Committee passed a bill authored by Senator Andrew Mathews (R-Princeton) that will repeal the authority of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to set automobile emissions standards. The MPCA is an unelected board whose authority should not extend to changing existing statute.

“The MPCA is pushing the standards of California bureaucrats onto Minnesotans, and I think that is unacceptable,” Senator Mathews said Wednesday. “They are unelected officials using the guidance of another unelected body from a vastly different state to change state policy. That’s what the legislature is for and these decisions should be made by our Minnesota state legislators, that are directly accountable to their constituents for the decisions they make.”

The MPCA has been using administrative loopholes to advance the agenda Governor Walz has given them based on California’s needs. Minnesota has been a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the free market, and our own statutes and regulations; we do not need to be subject to those of another state. This bill would eliminate Minnesota’s ability to set our own standards and would place burdensome regulations on vehicle manufacturers in order to do business in this state.

Minnesota has long been an independent, forward-thinking, and strong state. We do not need to rely on another state to move forward towards cleaner energy. We are already doing that on our own.