MN Supreme Court Won’t Hear Challenge to Walz’s Clean Car Rule
St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - A legal battle by vehicle dealerships in Minnesota to derail the Walz administration's push for stricter air pollution emissions standards is over.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has decided not to review an earlier ruling by the State Court of Appeals that upheld the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's authority to incorporate portions of another state's vehicle emissions standards into Minnesota's regulations. The Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association argued that Governor Tim Walz, through the MPCA, violated the State Constitution by improperly delegating legislative authority by adopting the emissions standards written by California regulators. The Association also argued that, under federal regulations, Minnesota does not meet the threshold required to adopt the tougher California rules.
In its decision to uphold Minnesota's Clean Car Rule, the Court of Appeals found that it did not violate "the non-delegation doctrine" of the Minnesota Constitution, which prohibits delegating the MPCA's rulemaking authority to California regulators, because any major change to the California emissions standards would require the Minnesota agency to initiate a new rulemaking process. The appeals court judges also found Minnesota met the federal requirements for adopting the California vehicle emission limits.
Governor Tim Walz pushed through the new Clean Car Rule for Minnesota as part of his administration’s initiatives to counter climate change. The regulations are designed to force vehicle manufacturers and their dealers in the state to increase their offerings of electric or other zero-emission vehicles for sale to Minnesota consumers.