California regulations threaten family business and trucking industry in Pennsylvania 

Brian Wanner’s deep pride in his family’s Lehnartsville, Pennsylvania trucking business is rivaled only by his fierce loyalty to his employees.

“We have 85 people who count on Peters Brothers for a good living,” he beams. “These guys are away from their families two, three, four weeks or even months at a time. They appreciate working for a good company, knowing they’re doing a good job, and knowing they’re getting goods across the country to people who need them.”

He’s protective of his people and his business, especially from government overreach. The COVID-19 response, he offers, is a typical example.

“The whole country shut down, but our drivers didn’t miss a day,” he says. “Then, the state closed all the rest areas with no regard for the people out there delivering supplies so everybody can live. Our drivers didn’t even have a place to go to the bathroom or wash their hands.”

Today, Pennsylvania’s trucking industry faces a new, crushing government threat—heavy diesel engine regulations. Only this time, California is at the wheel, rolling over Brian’s business and his rights.

Peters Brothers was launched by Brian’s grandfather in 1950 as a one-truck livestock hauling company. Brian joined in 1993 as a dispatcher. Later as general manager and as the one at the helm, he’s grown adept at navigating the already heavy regulations and economic stressors such as inflation, vehicle maintenance, and fuel costs.

However, California recently adopted new regulations that mandate expensive extended warranties and drastically higher emissions standards for all new heavy diesel vehicles. These standards ratchet up in stringency year by year. And under existing Pennsylvania regulations, these California standards automatically apply in the Keystone State.

Brian fears that the skyrocketing costs of California-compliant engines will cause a shortage of trucks to deliver goods—especially as California’s heightened emission standards increase even further in 2027. He expects that this will hike transportation costs for trucking companies and hike the costs of food and goods for everyone else.

“I’m okay with restrictions, and I’m okay with steps to do better for the environment. I think we can do better, but it has to be reasonable, achievable, and not kill the industry,” he says. “I don’t think government regulators understand.”

The warranty demand is especially frustrating because Peters Brothers has in-house technicians who are qualified to fix emissions system issues.

“There’s no logical benefit to this,” says Brian. “Why must I be forced to buy a warranty on something that we could repair?”

Brian’s dismay turned to disbelief upon learning that the new emissions requirements didn’t even originate in Pennsylvania. They came from California.

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” he remembers thinking. “Who would do that?”

Incredibly, the answer is the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board. In 2002, the agency established a regulation to adopt California’s heavy diesel engine standards automatically and in perpetuity, putting Pennsylvania’s trucking companies forever at the mercy of California regulators.

Thus, with consent from absolutely no one in Pennsylvania, new emissions standards recently adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for California now rule the Keystone State.

California is the only state allowed to deviate from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and create its own emissions standards. Accordingly, California’s standards are notoriously stricter than the EPA’s.

“This is bad. California should not be in charge of what we do in Pennsylvania,” says Brian. “I don’t want to be regulated by California. I want the people in my state to decide what’s good for my state. That seems reasonable.”

It is not only reasonable but also constitutionally required. Pennsylvania law must be made by Pennsylvania lawmakers. And while the Pennsylvania General Assembly might authorize state agencies to impose regulations within limited parameters, it is unconstitutional to outsource regulatory powers to bureaucrats in California.

Under the Constitution’s separation of powers, Pennsylvania state lawmakers cannot relinquish unchecked rulemaking power to unelected state officials—much less to the State of California.

“Only a state’s elected representatives can make laws for residents of that state,” explains PLF attorney Luke Wake. “A state can neither hand over its lawmaking authority to another state nor mindlessly incorporate other states’ laws. Regulation-by-proxy, while perhaps lightening the workloads of Pennsylvania bureaucrats, sacrifices the will of the people.”

This is not how democracy works. Yet Pennsylvania is one of several states—and counting—that import California’s CARB regulations.

Brian surmises that if Pennsylvania is allowed to continue outsourcing to California, Peters Brothers will soon have to move its operations.

“We have a terminal in Wisconsin so I can buy trucks in Wisconsin,” he says. “But does that serve the people of Pennsylvania? It does not.”

In the meantime, Brian is fighting back to keep his business in Pennsylvania and keep California regulations out. Represented by PLF free of charge, he and Peters Brothers are challenging Pennsylvania’s unlawful attempt to outsource truck sale regulations to California regulators.

“We shouldn’t have to sue our government to get common sense stuff done,” says Brian. “But we have to stand up, or we’re just going to lose everything.”