Republican officials filed a lawsuit against the state of California over their efforts to mandate electric semitrucks, a move which the officials contend imposes on the rest of the nation.

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order four years ago instructing the California Air Resources Board to ensure that all medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks become zero-emission by 2045, while the Environmental Protection Agency granted the state permission last year to implement the requirement. Republican authorities from seventeen states contended in their lawsuit that the move will impact their state economies as well.

“California’s regulation, which is called Advanced Clean Fleets, masquerades as a rule for in-state conduct. But by leveraging California’s large population and access to international ports on the West Coast, Advanced Clean Fleets exports its ‘in-state’ ban nationwide, creating harms which are certain to reach plaintiffs’ states,” the lawsuit said. “This will inevitably disrupt the supply chain for all manner of goods, slow interstate transportation, raise prices on goods across the country, and impose costs on taxpayers and governments around the country.”

The lawsuit concluded that the policy is “misconceived” and implemented “without the blessing of Congress or the consent of elected leaders in affected states.” The officials said Congress should regulate motor vehicles since they move across the country for interstate commerce.

California and other states have also imposed requirements that all new cars and passenger trucks must be zero-emission by 2035. Newsom claimed the policy is “the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change” and to decrease reliance on nonrenewable energy.

The electric vehicle mandates come amid widespread consumer hesitance toward the technology. One survey indicated last year that some 21% of American consumers said they are “very unlikely” to consider an electric vehicle purchase, with many “becoming more adamant about their decision” to avoid the models. The overall electric vehicle market grew from nearly 3% of all new car sales in early 2020 to some 8% of new car sales in early 2023.

President Joe Biden has called for half of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 despite the consumer holdouts. Biden and other senior administration officials, who extended considerable subsidies for electric vehicle purchases with the Inflation Reduction Act two years ago, have also pressed for broader renewable energy adoption in the federal fleet.