Oregon Joins Suit Against Trump Administration to Allow States to Set Vehicle Emissions Standards

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum joined the lawsuit filed today against the Trump administration's decision to limit California's ability to set a higher standard than the federal government on vehicle emissions.

That impacts Oregon and other states because states are allowed to choose between the federal and California standards.

"Why is the federal government protecting polluters and big oil, over the wishes of states that choose to protect their environment? Families want less pollution and better gas mileage for their cars," said Rosenblum in a statement. (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to Richard Meeker, co-owner of WW's parent company.)

"Today, with basically the stroke of a pen, the federal administration just set back years of hard work on reducing carbon emissions. Joining this lawsuit is a 'no brainer' to demonstrate our commitment to this fight, not only to protect Oregonians —but also to save our planet."

The lawsuit, filed today in federal court in Washington, D.C., against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration comes a day after Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the decision to strip California of a federal exemption that allowed the state to set a higher standard for fuel efficiency, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Since the 1960s, California has had the exemption. Other states have had the option to follow the federal guidelines or the state of California's, and Oregon and 12 other states have adopted the California standards.

The list of states and cities joining the California suit includes: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia; in addition to Los Angeles and New York City.