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Today, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) resubmitted proposed amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), as updated to address clarity issues identified by OAL, as well as to follow board direction and otherwise further improve alignment with the objectives of the rulemaking. OAL has up to 30 working days from the resubmittal date to make a determination on the resubmitted LCFS rulemaking package. If OAL approves the rulemaking package and grants CARB’s requested effective date, the updated LCFS regulation would be effective on July 1, 2025.
Background
The LCFS regulation reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by setting a declining carbon intensity target for transportation fuels used in California. The LCFS regulation is designed to provide the most cost-effective path to support clean fuels and infrastructure that reduce greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.
The LCFS is an important part of the California climate portfolio which altogether has delivered a significant return on investment—lowering fuel costs through more efficient vehicles, generating tens of billions for climate investments, reducing utility bills through an annual credit, and launching new job-creating industries as part of our clean energy economy.
On November 8, 2024, the Board held a public hearing to consider Proposed Amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Regulation (Proposed Amendments). After considering staff’s presentation of the Proposed Amendments and all public comments received, the Board approved the Proposed Amendments. On January 3, 2025, CARB staff submitted a final rulemaking package to the OAL for review. On February 18, 2025, OAL disapproved the rulemaking package. As outlined in Government Code section 11349.4, CARB may rewrite and resubmit the amendments to OAL within 120 days of its receipt of OAL’s decision. CARB determined that additional modifications were appropriate for the proposed amendments and developed proposed modifications as stated in the “Summary of Proposed Regulatory Modifications” section of the Third Notice of Public Availability of Modified Text and Availability of Additional Documents and Information (Third 15-Day Notice) released April 4, 2025. Following a 15-day comment period, CARB responded to comments submitted in response to the Third 15-Day Notice package in an addendum to the Final Statement of Reasons for the Rulemaking, and resubmitted the Proposed Amendments to OAL on May 16, 2025.
The original Notice, Initial Statement of Reasons, and all subsequent regulatory documents are available on CARB’s Rulemaking Webpage.
Inquiries concerning the substance of the proposed regulatory action may be directed to the agency representative Dillon Miner, Staff Air Pollution Specialist, Alternative Fuels Section, at (279) 208-7437 or Jordan Ramalingam, Manager, Alternative Fuels Section, at (916) 277-0499.
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