As we reported last year, the California Air Resources Board ("CARB") adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation to support its efforts to reduce air pollutants and meet state climate change targets. The regulation has a one-time reporting requirement for large entities that operate or dispatch vehicles in California with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating ("GVWR") greater than 8,500 lbs. That includes medium duty vehicles like vans and ¾-ton pickups (i.e., the F250 or Ram 2500) and heavier vehicles of all configurations and fuel types. However, the regulation does not apply to lighter vehicles such as cars and light duty pickups, among other exemptions.
This regulation applies to a wide range of businesses. Examples include entities that meet any of the following criteria:
- Had gross annual revenues greater than $50 million in the United States for the 2019 tax year, and had one or more vehicles over 8,500 lbs. GVWR under common ownership or control that were operated in California in 2019; or
- Any fleet owner in the 2019 calendar year that had 50 or more vehicles over 8,500 lbs. GVWR under common ownership or control; or
- Any broker or entity that dispatched 50 or more vehicles over 8,500 lbs. GVWR into or throughout California, in the 2019 calendar year.
CARB submitted the regulation to the California Office of Administrative Law ("OAL") for review and approval on January 29, 2021, and OAL recently approved the regulation on March 15, 2021. Due to the short time period between OAL's approval of the regulation and the April 1, 2021 deadline to report, CARB is extending the reporting deadline for applicable information to May 1, 2021. CARB hopes this extension will provide affected entities any needed compliance flexibility.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
