
The Oregon House Committee on Climate, Energy and Environment held a public hearing on House Bill 3119 on Thursday.
The bill is a bipartisan effort to delay Oregon's Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which went into affect Jan. 1. It would declare an emergency and demands the state's Department of Environmental Quality to delay adoption of the regulations until Jan. 1, 2027.
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"Oregonians are frustrated with our cost of living," says Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany, chief sponsor of the bill. "These regulations are not only unattainable, they will only fuel price increases in every sector of our economy. In some cases, they require manufacturers to sell products that don't yet exist. Class 8 EV tractor trucks cost twice as much, haul 25% less and can only travel about half the distance. The math doesn't math."
Boshart Davis says the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which mirrors California's, will "limit access to the newest, cleanest and most efficient diesel-powered trucks."
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Boshart Davis is the second-generation owner of Boshart Trucking.
"Today's truck is not a truck from the '80's rolling coal," she testified before the committee. "It is an understatement to say trucks we're driving today are cleaner than when my dad started driving in the early '80's. It's not even comparable. This progress demonstrates the industry's commitment to environmental stewardship while maintaining the reliability and performance that working people depend on."
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Proponents of the bill argue the Advanced Clean Trucks regulations prevent truck owners from purchasing newer, cleaner diesel trucks. Boshart Davis pointed out that of the 14 states that also adopted California's rules, three have rejected the rules and five more delayed the rules. She says the language in her bill comes from a New Jersey bill that passed out of committee at the end of 2024.
"What we are trying to do today is happening across the nation," Boshart Davis says.