The Biden administration, according to Judge James Hendrix, lacked the legal authority to enact the fuel emissions concept.
On March 28, a Texas judge upheld a Biden administration law that mandated states to monitor and report greenhouse gas emissions from all vehicles traveling through the country’s highway system.
In particular, it required state transportation departments and metropolitan planning organizations ( MPOs ) to both set their own, andnbsp, emission reduction goals and measure their transportation-related emissions on the U.S. highway system.
State DOTs and MPOs were also required to submit quarterly reports on how well they had met the declining goals by the legislation. FHWA may also examine the state’s progress toward achieving those goals, according to the principle.
In December, Texas brought legal action against the DOT, alleging that it was in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and that the company had no legal authority to enact the rule.
Legislation makes” Tries to Override Statutory Text”
” When a regulation attempts to override statutory text, the regulation loses every time, regulations ca n’t punch holes in the rules Congress has laid down”, the judge wrote, citing a previous case, Djie v. Garland.
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The judge, who was appointed under President Donald Trump, wrote,” That is what happened here. The DOT’s 2023 Rule attempts to override Section 150 ( c ) 3 )’s clear limitation of authorized performance measures to those that measure the physical condition and efficiency of the interstate and national highway systems.”
” Part 150 or passing a new law may be used to amend Part 150 or pass a new law if the people, through Congress, think that the state should spend the time and money necessary to monitor and report greenhouse gas emissions and set declining emissions targets. But an organization may make this decision for the people”, he concluded.
21 additional state filed a separate petition in Kentucky in December related to the measure.  , That complaint is still pending.
” Biden Administration Overreach blatantly”
Republicans, including the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee president, Rep. Sam Graves ( R- Mo. ), and the Highways and Transit Subcommittee president, Rick Crawford ( R- Ark. In a joint declaration released on March 28, they praised the decision.
The Biden Administration clearly committed obvious excess, and we applaud the Court for its decision that a “federal administrative company cannot act without legislative approval,” the lawmakers said.
The government’s rulemaking was an immoral try to bypass Congress and impose this one-size-fits-all stress on every state and group across the country, according to the report.” Congress rejected the inclusion of a GHG performance measure when the infrastructure law was developed. We are appreciative of the decision and will continue to work with the Administration to ensure that it does not overreach its authority.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated in his final draft that the performance measure did give states” a clear and consistent framework to monitor carbon waste and the freedom to set their own climate targets” in December of last year. Additionally, leaders claimed that travel is the main cause of American greenhouse gas emissions.
Following Judge Hendrix’s ruling, a spokesperson for the highway management, which is a division of the transport department, informed The Hill that the agency is now reviewing the decision and considering its upcoming steps.
The Biden presidency is also committed to tackling climate change, according to the director.
The Department of Transportation is seeking further reply from The Epoch Times.
Reuters contributed to this statement.
