Attorney General Knudsen fights Biden administration rule requiring states to reach net-zero highway emissions – Montana Department of Justice

HELENA Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsenpushed backtodayagainst aBiden administration rule requiring Montana and all other states to reduce on-road carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero by 2050 intwo sets offormal comments filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The rule, proposed by the Federal Highway Administration, would require the State of Montana to track emissions from drivers on interstate highways and other major roadsand ultimately reduce them to net-zero.

The proposed rule exceeds the authority given to the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fails to considerthe Major Questions doctrine, which was strengthened in a Supreme Court decisionearlier this year following a lawsuit by Attorney GeneralKnudsen and other state attorneys general.

Federal agencies cannot enact a major policy changes without clear Congressional authorization for the power they claim. Requiring Montana and all other states to track and eliminate tailpipe emissions is clearly a major policy change,Attorney General Knudsen said. This is one of a longline of unlawful attempts by the Biden administration to reach in and overregulate the day-to-day lives of Montanans.

The rule alsoviolates federalism principles by requiring states to implement a federal regulatory program, violates the Appropriation Clause, and mirrors arule the agency previously repealed because it was burdensome and duplicative.

Click here to read the first set of comments. Click here to read the second.

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Attorney General Knudsen fights Biden administration rule requiring states to reach net-zero highway emissions - Montana Department of Justice