INDUSTRY ALERT
CARB Pursues a “Green Contracting” Mandate to Force ZEV Purchases by All Private Fleets That Contract with Public Agencies
Sean Edgar, CleanFleets.net
CARB’s ambitions to foist zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) on private fleet operators is relentless and downright sneaky. On St. Patrick’s Day 2026, CARB’s ZEVFleet staff quietly lit the fuse on a twisted regulatory interpretation that will explode this Spring and Summer on the trucking and construction industries and ALL privately-owned fleets that contract with the State of California or local public agencies. The public agencies would also suffer greatly if this late hit becomes a reality as everyone from Caltrans to your City/County public works department “remains responsible for ensuring compliance” with the ZEV purchase mandate for its contractors and, “may impose contractual requirements to ensure regulatory compliance.” Apart from the infeasibility of ZEVs for all but a narrow segment of local delivery trucks, when you add up the thousands of existing public works and public services contracts and consider the billions in new costs that CARB seeks to impose this is clearly a public contracting disaster for current work let alone future work for decades to come. WSTA is at the tip of the spear and breaks it down below along with a strategy to beat this back in the Sacramento hearing rooms and courtrooms.
The ZEVFleet Manifesto: In prior articles I wrote of federal actions to limit CARB’s authority to force ZEVs on private fleets and also CARB’s determination that they do not need federal approval to enforce the “State and Local Government” (SLG) purchase mandate on public agencies to replace their internal combustion vehicles with ZEVs. The SLG accounted for less than 30% of the ZEVs that CARB sought to mandate and they are desperate to make up the difference. In December 2025, CARB began a series of public workshops under the “Drive Forward” tagline that were geared towards identifying pathways to continue ZEV deployment in light of the federal actions. Those workshops loosely described “voluntary” actions such as “green contracting” as a possible tool to roll out ZEVs. When pressed for details, staff had little meat on the bone at that time. Several folks asked at that time for additional details but none were forthcoming until St. Patrick’s Day. Via email CARB staff provided scenarios that never underwent stakeholder discussion, environmental or economic review during the nearly five year “ACF” regulatory effort. According to CARB, local government: 1) “remains responsible for ensuring compliance with the SLG requirements,” of private contractors, and 2) “must include vehicles used under contract when determining its compliance,” and 3) “while the private fleet is not itself the regulated entity, the government agency must account for the emissions and vehicle types used under contract and may impose contractual requirements to ensure regulatory compliance.” In its email CARB targets private fleets performing public services and uses the example of “waste collection, street sweeping, or maintenance.” None of these examples or requirements is contained in the SLG portion of ACF approved by the Board either in the 2023 initial approval nor the ACF Repeal hearing that affected SLG that was held on September 25, 2025.
The Likely Impacts: I expect that CARB views the term “maintenance” broadly and everything from tree trimming to road construction project using an F250 pickup up to a dump truck would be fair game for CARB. Many WSTA members derive revenue from public works projects ranging from pothole repair, local road and sewer projects to major critical infrastructure projects. When ACF affected agencies (who are currently left twisting in the wind by a broke Sacramento) must redirect it limited capital resources to ZEVs one can predict that public works projects will be delayed, downsized or dropped.
Next Steps: I addressed the CARB Board hearing on March 26, 2006 to demand, in writing, CARB’s claims of legal authority for this interpretation. I subsequently met with the CalChamber and other transportation-related associations to discuss collaboration. I have two CARB Board member calls the first few days of April and Lee Brown and I are coordinating through a bimonthly call with over 40 pro renewable natural gas advocates who are gaining traction on keeping that option alive in a battery focused CARB approach. At the September 2025 hearing, the CARB Board authorized the Executive Officer to complete the ACF Repeal and SLG amendments without coming back before the Board and we are watching for draft language in the coming weeks that CARB may try to ramrod through to get their bad interpretation “on the books” so to speak. While we will fully participate and collaborate with other like minded groups, ultimately we expect that this issue will need to be addressed through our two lawsuits in Fresno Superior Court that were require to pause during CARB’s ACF repeal but will be ready to restart once the ACF repeal if finalized over the Summer. Please note the ACF repeal would not relieve our members from the assault of the “ZEVFleet Manifesto” if it passes.
Why we continue to fight: CARB’s decision to withdraw the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) fleet purchase regulation from federal approval, while a welcome delay, does not resolve WSTA’s concerns about CARB. On August 11 CARB notified Governor Newsom and the Legislature that it recommends that it be given authority to, “develop and implement a statewide indirect source rule. This program would reduce emissions from mobile sources that frequent indirect sources such as large warehouses, ports, airports, and railyards.” There is nothing to say that CARB would limit its approach to the four facility types noted on a statewide basis. On March 23, 2026 Assembly Bill 1117 (Garcia) passed Assembly Natural Resources Committee and would grant CARB indirect source rule authority. CARB may also time a new ACF in preparation for exit of Donald Trump. As discussed in past articles, WSTA’s legal challenges to CARB’s zero emission vehicle mandates are moving closer to the courtroom. Since the COVID-era push to outlaw internal combustion engines and petroleum fuels, WSTA has participated in the federal and state legal proceedings in which CARB passed several zero emission mandates and the prior EPA rubber stamped them. WSTA views the legal challenges as the opportunity to cut the head off the snake that has been biting affected parties for decades by neutralizing CARB in a lasting way through victory in the courtroom. Interested parties my view updates and contributions are need at https://westrk.org/wsta-fights-carbs-acf-regulation/ .
Questions may be addressed to Sean@CleanFleets.net or (916) 718-7050.
