The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency today announced that they will move to adopt California-style clean car emissions standards in January. Senator Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, issued the following statement.

“This is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. It was a terrible idea when the governor first announced it in 2019, and it remains a terrible idea now. If the governor feels the need to virtue-signal to environmentalist activists, then that’s fine, but he should not punish Minnesotans in the process. California’s emission standards do not fit in Minnesota, and applying their rules to our citizens is going to be incredibly damaging to Minnesota families — especially farmers, blue-collar workers, and local businesses. It will increase the cost of cars and pickups significantly.

I know the governor has a fondness for bypassing the legislature at every opportunity, but we don’t live in a monarchy. Implementing these standards via bureaucratic rulemaking is wrong. The legislature must have input, and that is especially true when the issue is this important.”