The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) sued the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on Dec. 6, over the Truck and Bus Regulation, which they say is unconstitutional.
The rule, OOIDA says, discriminates against out-of-state truckers.
The Truck and Bus Regulation requires 1996-2006 model year trucks that weigh more than 14,000 pounds to be upgraded with particulate matter filters and prohibits older trucks that have not been upgraded from operating on public roads in California. The rule went into effect Jan. 1, 2012.
OOIDA is asking the court to stop CARB from implementing or enforcing the Truck and Bus Regulation against the plaintiffs and other truck owners or operators who reside or conduct business primarily outside California.
The regulation violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits state laws that discriminate against interstate commerce or unduly burden interstate commerce, OOIDA says.
The brief filed by OOIDA states that CARB regulations have caused, and will continue to cause, irreparable harm to truckers who have been shut out of the California market because of the costs of compliance, according to truckinginfo.com.
That's because out-of-state truckers are at a disadvantage due to the costs of upgrading their vehicles to meet CARB standards.
The cost of doing a small amount of business in the state of California is too high, OOIDA says, and failure to buy and retrofit trucking equipment as required by the CARB regulation will exclude out-of-state truckers from the California trucking market unless they are willing to face fines and penalties for noncompliance.
