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BALTIMORE, MD – In a multistate lawsuit joined by Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, a federal judge issued a final ruling that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) unlawfully withheld about $1 billion in funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program from 20 states and the District of Columbia.
“Expanding access to charging stations gives Marylanders the confidence to drive the electric vehicles essential to meeting our climate goals,” said Attorney General Brown. “Our lawsuit preserved this critical funding that helps protect our environment for our children and grandchildren.”
In the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress appropriated $5 billion for the NEVI Formula Program to facilitate nationwide deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and improve charging reliability for the public. States developed and were carrying out plans to build that network when President Trump, on day one of his administration, issued an executive order directing federal agencies to immediately stop releasing NEVI funds. Following that directive, DOT abruptly halted the NEVI program. A coalition of states, including Maryland, sued in May and, in June, won a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Tana Lin that reinstated funding, including $34.5 million of NEVI funds awarded to Maryland. Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Climate Solutions, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, CleanAIRE NC, West End Revitalization Association, and Plug In America also joined as plaintiff-intervenors.
Now, in her summary judgment order, Judge Lin said DOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) acted outside the law and their actions were arbitrary and capricious. She barred DOT and FHWA from suspending or revoking the plaintiff states’ approved electric vehicle infrastructure plans in the future and from withholding their NEVI Formula Program funds for any reason not expressly authorized by Congress in the IIJA.
“Such capriciousness runs counter to the Administrative Procedure Act; it is simply not how things are lawfully done,” Judge Lin wrote in her order.
In addition to Attorney General Brown, the coalition includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania joined the case.
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