TAM Emissions Initiative
TAM has established an emissions initiative that will develop and execute a strategic plan for educating policy makers and similarly situated stakeholders about the impacts of the upcoming ACT rule. TAM’s emissions initiative involves developing consistent messaging and key themes to support the initiative; creation of collateral materials reflecting the messaging and key themes; identification of key stakeholder organizations for potentially supporting this initiative; and identification and targeting of key state agencies for stakeholder outreach, whether direct or indirect. TAM has also created a website, www.smartenergyformass.org to help spread this message. To work with us, TAM has already procured the services of two well-known government affairs firms, Cascade Strategies and The Suffolk Group. TAM has had multiple meetings on this issue already with various government officials and stakeholders. Needless to say this issue will be a main TAM focus until the desired outcome is reached.
Why is it important to support TAM’s emissions initiative? Technology has not reached the level anticipated when the ACT rule was first adopted. Yet, as of January 1, 2025, truck dealerships must sell electric trucks in order to sell a limited supply of compliant medium and heavy-duty diesel trucks. This is a huge problem. No one is currently buying electric medium and heavy-duty trucks due to their cost and the lack of electric infrastructure needed to support these vehicles. At the same time, non-electric medium and heavy-duty trucks, which are further subjected to something called the heavy-duty omnibus rule (HDO), will be less available as compliant engines are few and far between. This not only means a lack of available trucks for purchase, but a dramatic price increase for the limited trucks that may be available.
With the eventual harmonization of the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) standards in 2027, Massachusetts’ upcoming regulatory deadline will actually stagnate environmental advances while seriously impacting industries throughout the Commonwealth. If the implementation of the ACT rule is not delayed, truck dealerships will need to consider moving out-of-state and buyers, if they can find an available truck, will need to find a way to make their purchases out-of-state and register the same there as well. Even the Commonwealth, for its part, will lose sales and excise tax revenue while its municipalities cannot buy new medium and heavy duty trucks.
TAM is committed to seeing this emissions initiative through. Please consider whether you or your organization will be able to help defray the costs of this initiative. Any amount of support helps. If we don’t extend this deadline, we, as well as consumers in MA, will all be seriously impacted.
If you have any questions about supporting this initiative, please do not hesitate to reach out to me to discuss this critical issue in more detail. I appreciate your consideration of this request and look forward to working together to ensure all of our industries’ future success.
Please watch for periodic email updates as well as Zoom calls. And thanks again for considering supporting our efforts.
Kevin Weeks
TAM Executive Director
