The State of Florida has demonstrated defiance in the face of Federal overreach from the Biden Administration, often rallying other states behind it. Florida Attorney General (AG) Ashley Moody has filed a lawsuit with 21 other states against new carbon emissions standards imposed through the National Highway System, calling them "arbitrary."
Introduced earlier in December and designed to take effect in January, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will track greenhouse gas emissions on major roadways throughout the United States through state-level departments and metropolitan planning organizations, which will set their own declining carbon dioxide (CO2) targets.
Not only can states impose arbitrary standards, AG Moody argued, "This rule forces states to spend an inordinate amount of time, resources and money with no clear guidance for what success looks like."
Moreover, the suit noted Federal agencies cannot compel state-level agencies to implement such systems, nor did Congress authorize the DOT and FHWA to do so. Hence, the argument is the White House overstepped its authority and intends to force policy through whatever agencies it can.
"As if Biden’s unfounded and reckless energy policies haven’t devastated our economy enough, this new, foolhardy edict from the U.S. Department of Transportation will create even more financial hardships for our state and Floridians. We’re taking action today to ensure that this misguided new-emissions rule does not stand," said AG Moody in her press release.
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is fully behind the suit, saying "Florida will not sit idly by while the Biden Administration tries to force the Green New Deal into existence through the U.S. Department of Transportation. Florida will always fight for freedom and against the federal government’s unlawful efforts to control the American people."
In July, Moody led a similar coalition of state attorney generals against efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sought to implement emission regulations for gas-powered vehicles in order to have 67% of new vehicles sold powered by electricity by 2032.
Moody called the proposed regulations "misguided and counterproductive," based on "a dangerous, expedited timeline to shift to electric vehicles will harm consumers and wreak havoc on our energy infrastructure."
