Latest news with #Hilgers
Epoch Times
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Epoch Times
California Agrees to Drop Electric-Truck Mandates in Legal Settlement
State attorneys general suing California said on May 6 that the state has agreed, as part of a legal settlement, to repeal electric-truck mandates that would have compelled trucking companies nationwide to scrap internal-combustion trucks. California wants to mandate 100 percent electric vehicles by 2036, and critics say that because of the size of the state's economy, the largest in the country, the policy has the effect of forcing electrification of the nation's trucks. Given the influence of the state's policies, several other states have already adopted its regulatory framework for motor vehicles. California has said its policies on motor vehicles are needed to drive down demand for liquid fuel and help the climate. The shift away from the truck mandate was articulated in an Lead Defendant Steven S. Cliff is the executive officer of the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Related Stories 4/23/2025 2/19/2025 Nebraska, Oklahoma, and 15 other states had sued to challenge a group of California regulations known as Advanced Clean Fleets. Those rules would have required some trucking companies that operate in California to retire their internal-combustion trucks and move to electric trucks, which they argued were more expensive and less efficient, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times. As part of the settlement, California regulators have agreed to begin rulemaking proceedings to rescind the electric truck mandate. The regulators have acknowledged they cannot enforce the planned 2036 ban on the sale of internal-combustion trucks unless the ban receives a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Clean Air Act, Hilgers said. 'The tide is starting to turn, as California has agreed to take the necessary steps to withdraw the Advanced Clean Fleets Rule,' Hilgers said. 'This settlement is a huge win for everyone in Nebraska, from our outstanding logistics industry that is critical to the Nebraska economy, for consumers who would have faced higher prices, and for the rule of law,' he said. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the settlement 'is a victory for the free market.' 'The California mandates would have forced tremendous costs upon the commercial trucking industry and had far-reaching implications for consumers,' Drummond said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times. The settlement described in the court order states that CARB staff will move forward with a proposal to repeal the relevant part of the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation before the board in a public hearing to be held not later than Oct. 31. If the board approves the repeal, CARB staff will file a rulemaking action not later than Aug. 31, 2026. California agrees not to enforce the mandate while awaiting CARB taking action. The lawsuit will be held 'in abeyance,' or delayed during the CARB rulemaking process. The states will dismiss their legal complaint within 15 days after the repeal is finalized, the settlement states. The Epoch Times reached out for comment to California Deputy Attorney General Elaine Meckenstock, who was part of California's legal team in the lawsuit. No reply was received by publication time. Meanwhile, U.S. Supreme Court justices are currently considering whether to revive a lawsuit filed by energy companies that seek to challenge California's tough vehicle emissions standards. The case, Diamond Alternative Energy v. Environmental Protection Agency, was In April 2024, a federal appeals court found California had the authority to regulate tailpipe emissions. That court also held that the energy companies bringing the legal action could not demonstrate that they had standing to sue. Standing refers to the right of someone to sue in court. The parties must show a strong enough connection to the claim to justify their participation in a lawsuit. The companies argued that they would suffer economic harm if California were allowed to continue imposing vehicle emissions standards that are more stringent than those mandated by the federal government. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case by the end of June.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California agrees to repeal electric-truck emissions rule; Nebraska led opposition
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers announces two federal lawsuits against a California regulatory board and the Environmental Protection Agency. May 13, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Nebraska's efforts to fight California on new electric-truck mandates and related regulations largely ended Monday with California officials moving to repeal the proposed rules. In a Monday court filing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Steve Cliff, executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, pledged to formally scrub from the books the 'Advanced Clean Fleets' rule. The regulations, in part, would have required certain trucking companies to transition to electric trucks over time. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and his office led a 17-state coalition with the Nebraska Trucking Association to challenge the California rule. Last May, he said it could prevent Nebraska and other states from doing business in California or reaching its ports. Hilgers on Tuesday, announcing the 'significant victory,' said the 'tide is starting to turn.' 'This settlement is a huge win for everyone in Nebraska, from our outstanding logistics industry that is critical to the Nebraska economy, for consumers who would have faced higher prices, and for the rule of law,' Hilgers said. 'I am grateful for the strong coalition of sister states who joined our fight against this radical mandate.' Gov. Jim Pillen, who joined Hilgers to announce the lawsuit last year, thanked Hilgers for the fight that he said could have raised prices for consumers. 'Our truckers don't need California bureaucrats forcing electric vehicles into their fleets,' Pillen said in a statement. California regulators agreed to repeal the currently blocked rule and wait until it receives a Clean Air Act preemption waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Hilgers had previously led a 24-state coalition to block California from getting such a waiver. In addition to the Nebraska Trucking Association, the Arizona Legislature and attorneys general from the following states joined the lawsuit against California: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court upholds Legislature's authority to expand parole eligibility
Justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court (and when they were appointed), front row from left: Lindsey Miller-Lerman (1998), Chief Justice Jeffrey Funke (appointed 2016, elevated to chief 2024) and William Cassel (2012). Back row, from left: Jonathan Papik (2018), Stephanie Stacy (2015), John Freudenberg (2018) and Jason Bergevin (2025). (Courtesy of the Nebraska Supreme Court) LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court sided with the Legislature on Friday, upholding its constitutional authority to pass new parole eligibility standards as part of a major criminal justice reform law in 2023 meant to help address prison crowding. In an unsigned 37-page ruling, the high court unanimously overturned a Lancaster County District Court ruling that parts of Legislative Bill 50 from 2023 were unconstitutional. The sections deal with parole eligibility and legislative intent that the expanded provisions apply to all committed offenders. Those laws took effect Sept. 2, 2023, but on the advice of Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services refused to implement the parole provisions. The lower court sided with Hilgers in March 2024, leading to the appeal. 'Whether applied prospectively or retroactively, LB 50's new parole eligibility provisions do not result in substituting a milder punishment for the sentence originally imposed,' the Supreme Court wrote. The justices reasoned that parole is not the same as commutation, or imposing a 'milder' sentence, which is a power reserved exclusively to the Nebraska Board of Pardons and the executive branch. The court said parole 'merely changes the circumstances under which the sentence is being served.' While some offenders might get earlier parole, the justices said, it can't be assumed that everyone who will become eligible will then be granted parole sooner than they would have if not for LB 50's passage. It passed the Legislature in a 34-15 vote in June 2023. 'Because leaving an erroneous declaration of unconstitutionality uncorrected would result in damage to the integrity, reputation or fairness of the judicial process, we must reverse the judgment for plain error,' the justices said. Justice Jason Bergevin had not yet joined the Supreme Court when oral arguments came up in January, so Chief Judge Francie Riedmann of the Nebraska Court of Appeals filled in. Hilgers and his office specifically targeted Sections 47 and 48 of LB 50, which the Legislature in Section 57 explicitly said it intended to apply retroactively. The new law extended parole eligibility in the following ways: For someone serving a maximum term of 20 years or less, two years prior to a person's mandatory discharge date. For someone serving a maximum term of more than 20 years, when the person has served 80% of the time until the sentence's mandatory discharge date. LB 50 also created the possibility of 'geriatric parole' for someone who is at least 75 years old and who has served at least 15 years of the sentence. Persons serving a Class I, IA or IB felony or for a sex-related offense are ineligible, as are those serving life imprisonment. As a condition of geriatric parole, the person would need to wear an electronic monitoring device for at least 17 months. In late 2023 court filings, the Corrections Department said the 'retroactive effect' of LB 50 would impact 1,794 current offenders: 529 committed offenders who were already parole eligible would have had a new, earlier parole eligibility date. 345 committed offenders who were not yet parole eligible under the previous law would now be parole eligible. 920 committed offenders who had not yet reached parole eligibility would have a new, earlier parole eligibility date. At least five serving on the Supreme Court would have needed to agree to declare part or all of LB 50 unconstitutional. Statutes are presumed to be constitutional and 'all reasonable doubts are resolved in favor of its constitutionality.' 'The burden of establishing the unconstitutionality of a statute is on the one attacking its validity,' the court wrote. 'It is not the province of a court to annul a legislative act unless it clearly contravenes the constitution and no other resort remains.' State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha, a longtime member of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, joined former State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, the then-committee chair, to get LB 50 over the finish line. McKinney said he was a little surprised by Friday's decision but felt good. He said he had received numerous calls and questions from individuals and families who will be impacted by LB 50. 'I feel happy, but I feel relief for those individuals who were holding out hope that the court would uphold what we passed,' McKinney told the Nebraska Examiner. The Judiciary Committee in 2023 was split 4-4 between Republicans and Democrats, and LB 50 advanced 4-2 after a temporary vacancy caused by the resignation of former State Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln, a Republican, making four members a majority. Geist is now chief of staff and chief policy adviser to Hilgers. Geist's legislative successor, State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, now chairs the Judiciary Committee. Bosn was unavailable for comment Friday. When Hilgers' office filed the case in late 2023, he did so under a previous law since repealed by the Legislature. It required his office to challenge the constitutionality of a law if, on the AG's written advice, an agency refused to implement a state law. However, justices during January arguments said this was the first time the lawsuit had followed 'informal' advice rather than an archived AG's opinion. Secretary of State Bob Evnen defended the law against the attorney general, as was his duty under the previous law. Spokespersons for Evnen and Hilgers did not immediately respond to Friday requests for comment, nor did the Corrections Department. Friday's ruling almost did not happen on technical grounds after the attorney for Evnen contained no 'assignment of error section' in a brief to the high court, only headings alluding to alleged errors, the opinion states. However, the case was allowed to move forward to determine whether there was a 'plain error' in the lower court ruling, leading to Friday's ruling. This isn't the first time Hilgers has questioned the constitutionality of state laws at the request of state agency heads, He did so notably in August 2023 after the Corrections Department and the Department of Health and Human Services questioned legislative oversight of child welfare and corrections and in July 2024, when Evnen questioned restoring voting rights to formerly convicted felons after the completion of their sentences, rather than a two-year waiting period that Evnen also questioned. Wayne, with McKinney's support, led the voting rights law. The Supreme Court ruled against Hilgers in October. No lawsuit was ever launched in the oversight case. Legislation is pending to get around a legal fight. McKinney said he and others often have to remind colleagues that AG's opinions lack the force of law and that Friday's decision upheld that state lawmakers were 'working to do the right thing' and 'crossing our t's and dotting our i's.' 'Just because another agency or individual wants to try to say, 'No, y'all can't do that,' I think it shows that there's power in the Legislature to do good things,' McKinney said. 'When you do good things for the right reasons, things will be upheld.' This is a developing story. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Forbes
24-03-2025
- Forbes
Nebraska Attorney General Ramps Up Delta-8 THC Crackdown
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has launched a renewed effort to rid the state of unregulated ... More delta-8 THC products, including warning letters sent to more than 100 Omaha retailers last week. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers last week ramped up the state's crackdown on businesses selling delta-8 THC products, saying the retailers are breaking state law. The attorney general's office sent cease-and-desist letters on Thursday to 104 vape shops, dispensaries and gas stations, ordering them to stop selling products containing delta-8 THC and other intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids. 'Today, we have taken legal action against every single store in the Omaha Metro area,' Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said at a Thursday press conference, according to a report from Nebraska Public Media. 'The stores have 30 days to comply with our terms and take these products off their shelves, like other stores have, or we will sue.' Closely related to delta-9 THC (more commonly known simply as THC), the compound primarily responsible for the classic marijuana 'high,' delta-8 THC is found in small amounts in cannabis plants. Delta-8 THC can also be produced by altering hemp cannabidiol (CBD), which was legalized nationwide with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. Delta-8 THC, which has psychoactive effects described as similar to but less intense than delta-9 THC, is the active ingredient in hundreds of unregulated intoxicating products, such as snacks, vapes, beverages and more. Delta 8 products have appeared on store shelves at retailers across the country, including convenience stores, smoke shops, and other businesses. The Nebraska attorney general's office has filed lawsuits against 15 retailers for selling delta-8 products since 2023. A dozen of the retailers have accepted settlement agreements, while the remaining three cases are still pending. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers The retailers in the Omaha metropolitan area that were sent cease-and-desist letters last week were given 30 days to remove delta-8 and other intoxicating hemp products from their shelves. Those who fail to comply face further action, potentially including criminal prosecution. 'We promised that we would escalate our fight and today are fulfilling that promise. Operating in Nebraska's largest city does not immunize you from the law,' said Hilgers, KOLN television news reported. 'These stores are selling harmful and unlawful products despite being on notice. Because of that, once litigation ensues, we will seek penalties to the fullest extent of the law and will refer for criminal prosecution when necessary.' 'We gave them plenty of warning,' Hilgers added, according to a report from the Nebraska Examiner. 'We thought criminal prosecution was not the right tool. They have decided not to change. Now criminal prosecutions are on the table as well.' While last week's warning letters were limited to shops in the Omaha area, Hilgers promised to expand the crackdown on intoxicating hemp products across the Cornhusker State. 'We're gonna go after every single store selling these products in the state of Nebraska,' Hilgers said. 'As we go over the coming weeks and months, our efforts are only going to accelerate and escalate until we have the entire industry covered.' Hilgers is supporting legislation (LB 316) that would ban all hemp-derived cannabinoids other than CBD, similar to a bill passed by the Texas Senate last week. If the measure passes, the attorney general said he will reconsider his enforcement strategy. Nebraska's hemp industry is opposed to the proposed ban on hemp-derived cannabinoids. Joseph Fraas, the owner of G&G Smoke Shops in Omaha and Lincoln, told the legislature's Judiciary Committee in January that he employs 18 people. A Nebraska delta-8 ban, he said, would 'severely damage' his business. 'If our businesses survive this ban, it is likely that most of our employees and their families will not,' he said at the hearing. 'Not only that, but this bill will destroy millions of dollars in economic activity.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Yahoo
Nebraska AG Hilgers says Delta-8 lawsuits to get costlier, prosecutions coming
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers. June 30, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said Thursday that he is done negotiating with smoke and vape shop retailers he says are breaking state law by selling candy and other products with Delta-8, a synthetic version of THC. Hilgers has spent the past year and a half trying to persuade and sue retailers into pulling off the shelves what he calls a dangerous, unregulated drug before more people than the half-dozen or so complaints his office has received get hurt. In some of those cases, he has worked with retailers selling the gummies, pouches and other ways to consume Delta-8 products to avoid using the full extent of potential state civil penalties and fines. He's also avoided referring them for prosecution. No longer, he said Thursday. He said his civil attorneys in the AG's Office are sending letters to 35 to 37 owners of 104 stores in the Omaha area demanding the products be pulled from store shelves, or the state will sue for maximum pain. In cases where Delta-8 sales continue or where harder drugs were offered or sold, he said his office would refer any relevant investigative reports to local county attorneys for the filing of possible criminal charges. 'We gave them plenty of warning,' Hilgers said. 'We thought criminal prosecution was not the right tool. They have decided not to change. Now criminal prosecutions are on the table as well. … What they should do is take it off the shelf.' Store owners in previously targeted communities, including Norfolk in northeast Nebraska, have said they felt blindsided by the AG's approach and that they had received little warning until they received the letter threatening legal action. Some negotiated settlements with the AG's Office. Others, Hilgers said, kept selling. Joseph Fraas, who owns G&G Smoke Shops in Omaha and Lincoln, told the Legislature's Judiciary Committee in late January that he employs 18 people and that Nebraska's proposed ban on Delta-8-related products would 'severely damage' his business. 'If our businesses survive this ban, it is likely that most of our employees and their families will not,' he said at the hearing. 'Not only that, but this bill will destroy millions of dollars in economic activity.' Hilgers said retailers' only option now is removing the products from their shelves or paying the price. He said there is no limit to how many lawsuits he would file. For Hilgers, stepping into the state's largest city was an escalation and a warning to retailers in the rest of the state that his patience had been tested. He said the Omaha stores getting letters are already illegally selling products. His allegations are powered by a single-day set of buys at all 104 stores organized by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson, who attended Hilgers' news conference, said Delta-8 products put people at risk. 'You can't trust drug dealers,' Hanson said of people pushing Delta-8. 'This is an industry that cannot be trusted. We did not find one location that was operating in compliance with the law. … These things are impacting regular people.' Thus far, the AG's Office has filed 15 lawsuits alleging that retailers have violated state consumer protection laws, including on protections from deception and the contents of food. The office said it had settled 12 of the 15. The other three lawsuit remain in progress, the AG's Office said. The lawsuits to date were filed in Platte, Scotts Bluff, Hall, Madison, Lancaster, Sarpy, Lincoln, Saline, Keith and Dawes Counties, a spokeswoman for the AG's Office confirmed. Hilgers, who has pushed since at least 2023 for legislation outlawing Delta-8, said the only thing that will stop his legal filings against store owners is if the Legislature adopts Omaha State Sen. Kathleen Kauth's Legislative Bill 316. That bill clarifies what Hilgers said the law already is in Nebraska. It explicitly bans the sale of products made from Delta-8. Some retailers have argued legalizing hemp allowed products like Delta-8 to be sold under a 'loophole' in the 2018 Farm Bill passed in Congress. 'If the bill passes, we will rethink our enforcement strategy,' Hilgers said. 'If it doesn't pass … Option 2 is what we're doing right now.' Kauth said she had received an email from the mother of a 38-year-old man after the late January hearing for LB 316 who told her that her son had gone into a coma for three days after consuming a product with Delta-8 in it. 'These are dangerous products, and people go into a store and assume that the government has done its job and made sure that they are safe,' Kauth said. State Sen. Jared Storm of David City has prioritized the Kauth bill so it will have a greater chance to reach the legislative floor and be debated. State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha has a competing proposal that would create a new state regulatory regime over hemp-created products like Delta-8: LB 16. Both LB 316 and LB 16 are awaiting action from the Judiciary Committee to advance. Critics of the Nebraska AG and his efforts have said he is scaring people without local research and facts to back up his claims. They compared it to decades of fear built up around recreational marijuana, which Hilgers also opposes. Hilgers acknowledged again on Thursday that he has no hard local numbers for injuries or deaths from Delta-8 and said he has to lean on national data. Much of what the AG's Office shares is anecdotal, he explained. Hanson said he tries to draw a separation between the politics around marijuana and the need to get Delta-8 off of the shelves. Hilgers said some of the same trust issues exist with both and that he continues to believe both remain illegal. 'They are tied … if you can't trust the Delta-8 industry, I'm not sure how you could trust the marijuana industry.' Nebraska Examiner reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
