East Idaho Times

U.S. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho has joined a group of lawmakers in filing a second amicus brief urging an Appeals Court to uphold a District Court's decision that vacated a federal rule requiring local entities to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

In November 2023, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) introduced a rule mandating state transportation departments and metropolitan planning organizations to measure and set targets for reducing GHG emissions on highways. This rule, according to its critics, would impose costly requirements on the Idaho Transportation Department, diverting funds away from necessary infrastructure improvements.

Following the finalization of this rule, 21 state attorneys general, including Idaho's, initiated legal action against it. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled against the Biden administration's regulation, but FHWA appealed this decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In October, Crapo supported an amicus brief led by Senators Kevin Cramer and Shelley Moore Capito backing Idaho's challenge to the rule.

Texas also filed a lawsuit against FHWA, resulting in another court ruling that vacated the Biden administration's regulation. The U.S. Department of Transportation has since appealed this ruling as well.

The brief contends that Congress debated but ultimately rejected giving FHWA authority over GHG performance measures and accuses FHWA of misinterpreting Congressional intent to justify its actions. It argues that recent Supreme Court decisions have limited Executive Branch overreach and claims FHWA is bypassing federalism principles for its policy goals.

"Congress considered, and ultimately rejected, providing [FHWA] with the authority to issue a GHG performance measure regulation," stated the members involved in filing the brief. "In doing so, [FHWA] impermissibly usurped the Legislative Branch’s authority."

The brief was co-signed by several U.S. Senators including Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), among others, as well as Representatives Sam Graves and Rick Crawford.

For more details on the amicus brief, click here.