Republicans Confront Gov. Newsom’s Advanced Clean Fleets Mandate Following Multiple EV Vehicles’ Lithium Battery Fires

Republican Lawmakers from both the California Senate and Assembly increased pressure on Governor Gavin Newsom this week to change up his Advanced Clean Fleets mandate because of multiple electric vehicle fires caused by lithium-ion batteries that occurred in the past month.

Legislative Republicans are calling on the Governor to delay his Advanced Clean Fleets Mandate.

Interstate 15 and 80 – major highways – were shut down for an extended period of
time. The state is not prepared for the release of toxic fumes from EV fires. #Caleg pic.twitter.com/dBk32QxD4g

— Assemblyman Lackey 👮‍♂️ (@TomLackey36) August 20, 2024

The controversy over the Advanced Clean Fleets mandate dates back to April of last year. That month, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced that the sale of all new diesel big rig trucks and buses will be banned in the state of California starting in 2036, similar to the state’s new gas-powered car sale ban that is currently set for 2035. In addition to the 2036 sales ban on new diesel trucks and buses, CARB, with the backing of Governor Newson, also announced that all trucks in California must be zero-emissions by 2042. Under these new regulations, also known as the Advanced Clean Fleets rule, CARB aimed to achieve a total zero-emissions truck and bus fleet by 2045, as well as have at least 1.6 million zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks operating in the state by 2048.

While the mandate itself is currently being challenged in court, it is currently being moved forward by CARB. However, in the past month, the mandate has faced a new challenge, this time over the safety of lithium-ion batteries. Multiple battery fires in California, caused entire roads and highways to be shut down. The largest incident was on July 26th, when a truck carrying lithium-ion batteries flipped over and caught on fire on Interstate 15 outside of Baker. The dangerous fumes from the batteries shut down the highway for two days. While motorists with gas-powered vehicles could refuel, those driving EV vehicles were out of luck. In addition, the fire lasted so long because adding water to put out the fire would have created even more toxic fumes. This resulted in San Bernadino firefighters to just let the fire burn itself out.

Most recently, a Tesla truck caught fire on Interstate 80 on Monday. While this fire was not as bad, the battery fire still caused the highway to close for 16 hours.

16 hours of closure another major interstate highway. This not only prevents motorists from traveling but our economy was impacted. The goods movement was also shut down.

CA must delay the Advance Clean Fleets Mandate until the state infrastructure is prepared.#Caleg https://t.co/2u7YG1mP8K

— Assemblyman Lackey 👮‍♂️ (@TomLackey36) August 20, 2024

While EV vehicles and ion-lithium battery fires can be put out, they take much longer to, resulting in dangerous vehicle fires. With the battery fires making national news, and high temperatures expected in California for at least another month, GOP lawmakers wrote a letter this week to Governor Newsom, urging him to delay the Clean Fleets mandate and to solve the battery fire issue before all trucks are required to be electric.

“Unlike when a diesel truck catches fire, it is basically impossible to extinguish an electric vehicle fire,” said Assemblyman Tom Lackey in his letter, writing for 20 other California lawmakers. “Moreover, the batteries in an electric truck can weigh up to 16,000 pounds — making the removal of the disabled truck difficult at best. So the road has to remain closed until it burns out.

“If one diesel truck carrying six batteries can shut down a major highway for 48 hours, what will happen when the highways are swarming with electric trucks powered by these batteries?

“Public safety is not the only concern with this ill-conceived mandate. With its sweeping requirements, many employers and residents in the state will be negatively impacted. Hence, we ask that you delay the implementation of your Advanced Clean Fleets mandate.”

As of Wednesday, Newsom’s office has yet to respond to Lackey’s letter or announce what they will be doing about the battery issue. However, EV experts noted that the issue will become bigger if nothing is done yet, with possible federal intervention possible as a result.

“The federal government will make big changes on cars once a major problem has been established,” explained Michigan-based EV consultant Justin Blanc to the Globe on Wednesday. “Unleaded gas, mandatory seatbelts, mandatory backup cameras – you name it. And if batteries are causing highways to shut down like this for hours or even days, that is huge. We just need one major incident on the Beltway around D.C. for federal lawmakers to act.

“It is true that electric vehicle fires are harder to put out, but California needs to be giving solutions now. Honestly, the way so many laws are modeled on California, other states may just copy it.

“I’m not sure delaying the mandate is the best course of action, but allowing for hybrids or other halfway measures could work as a temporary stopgap. But the big point is, if nothing is done on how to safely suppress these fires soon, the issue will get bigger as more electric vehicles go on the roads. Both sides can agree that they don’t want highways shut down.”