Jan. 21, 2025
Background: The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission has adopted rules requiring dealers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks to sell a certain number of zero-emission vehicles in order to sell conventionally powered diesel trucks – or face massive fines. The so-called Advanced Clean Trucks Rules went into effect Jan. 1. Truck manufacturers and dealers have explained the many ways in which this mandate won’t work, including the high cost of electric trucks, their limited range and the near absence of charging infrastructure in Oregon. One consequence of the new rules, ironically, is that fleet managers will hold onto older and dirtier diesel trucks longer. The new rule all but guarantees years of air that is dirtier than it needs to be.
What’s happening: On Jan. 21, the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee held an informational hearing on the electric truck mandate. The hearing began with a presentation about the rules by Department of Environmental Quality staff. Following the presentation, industry representatives detailed the many ways in which the mandate simply isn’t workable. The committee heard from a representative of Portland-based Daimler Truck North America, an OBI member that manufactures Freightliner trucks as well as zero-emission vehicles. But the presentation all taxpayers should watch was made by Jordan Papé, president and CEO of the Eugene-based Papé Group, also an OBI member, who explained the limits of current electric truck technology, the impossibility of DEQ’s escalating sales mandate and, ultimately the price impacts it will have on Oregonians. The video to the right begins with Papé’s presentation but shows the entire hearing.
Legislative Fix: Sponsored by Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany, and Rep. Ed Diehl, R-East Salem, and cosponsored by a bipartisan group of colleagues, House Bill 3119 would delay implementation of the unworkable Advanced Clean Trucks Rules until 2027.
Why it matters: Oregon businesses have long complained about the tendency of Oregon regulatory agencies to adopt rules that, even when workable, create unnecessary and unreasonable costs and compliance burdens. Over time, such rules have made Oregon less desirable to businesses, which in turn has limited job opportunities for Oregonians and revenue generation for state and local governments. The Advanced Clean Trucks Rules are the epitome of this tendency.
What OBI is doing: Modernizing the way in which Oregon’s regulatory agencies develop rules is the centerpiece of OBI’s Oregon Competitiveness Agenda, which you can read here.