By: @Kyle Packham
A new survey from Probolsky Research shows a vast majority of California voters – Republicans and Democrats – support exempting a broader range of emergency vehicles from the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) regulation.
Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars are currently exempt from the regulation, which requires a transition to ZEVs for all state and local government medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicle fleets. Voters were asked whether this exemption should extend to all additional support vehicles anticipated to respond in emergencies like wildfires, floods and earthquakes. An overwhelming 75 percent of voters said they would support this change.
Support is strong among all voters with more than 70 percent of Democratic, nonpartisan, and Republicans in agreement. Given the importance to voters, the California Special Districts Association (CSDA) is calling on CARB to enact these exemptions, which would help protect lives and property.
Download Probolsky Research Memo
“The power often goes out in disasters – a vehicle towing a generator to power a well may not look like a firetruck or an ambulance, but it’s just as vital,” said Neil McCormick, CSDA’s CEO. “When the lives of residents or emergency responders are on the line, the priority must be reliability, access and speed – emergency response cannot be delayed by insufficient ZEV range or an inoperable charging station.”
“California must ensure our essential front-line workers are not left waiting to charge their vehicles while lives and property are in danger,” added CSDA Board President Pete Kampa. “Our special district responders must be quickly on the scene of emergencies, keeping water in the tanks and sewage out of the creeks.”
The ACF regulation was adopted in 2023 and imposed a timeline for phasing in zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles for both public and private fleets. On September 25, 2025, CARB met to consider revisions to the mandate and voted to repeal parts of the regulation applying to federal or private fleets, including requirements for drayage trucks, to reduce confusion for federal and private fleet operators. The Board also directed CARB staff to develop amendments to the ACF regulation affecting state and local government to be considered at a future 15-day comment period.
Local agency representatives from across California provided comments requesting CARB update and expand its emergency vehicle exemption to exclude from the regulations those vehicles that respond to and support critical operations related to emergencies and disasters. As CARB enters this next phase of amendments, CSDA is committed to educating policymakers and the public on the importance of ensuring our communities’ frontline workers have the tools necessary to protect the health and safety of Californians.
“We cannot leave our communities defenseless against the very climate catastrophes we are striving to mitigate,” McCormick said. “Local agencies are working diligently to decarbonize their fleet operations, while California must prioritize the safety of our residents and public servants. That’s what the voters want.”