New Jersey

'We are not California': New Jersey dealers push back on electric truck rules

Published

1 year ago

December 23, 2024

'We are not California': New Jersey dealers push back on electric truck rules

Trucks move past cargo containers at a port in Bayonne, N.J., in 2021. The state is adopting California’s Advanced Clean Trucks rules, which require at least 7% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission for model year 2025. Dealers are petitioning for a delay, so far unsuccessfully.

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As a handful of states start adopting California’s sales mandates for zero-emission trucks, dealers in New Jersey are pushing back.

These rules are designed to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles in heavy trucking. They require truck manufacturers to ensure at least 7% of their total sales are zero-emission in the states that are opting in to the regulations.

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Currently, 10 other states have chosen to follow these Advanced Clean Truck rules, which are also known as ACT. But a push by dealers in New Jersey to delay implementation of the rules shows the battle lines over these mandates. There’s no indication that the push will succeed; the rules are set to go into effect at the start of the new year, and New Jersey’s governor has indicated support for the current timeline.

But the pressure for delay is a preview of an even bigger fight that’s brewing – one over state EV mandates for passenger vehicles.

Big vehicles with big environmental footprints

Heavy trucks have an outsized effect on both climate change and human health. Emissions from large diesel vehicles contribute to asthma and other health problems, particularly in communities near warehouses and ports.

California is uniquely positioned to address this problem, because the federal Clean Air Act — recognizing California’s acute pollution problems and history of regulating emissions — allows the state to set its own, stricter standards. Other states can either opt in to California’s rules or stick with the federal ones.

With the Trump administration expected to roll back federal standards, state rules are likely to become more significant. And while the incoming administration is expected to challenge California’s right to set these rules at all, truck makers are currently in a partnership with the state. . They’ve agreed to follow its rules regardless of electoral or legal outcomes.

In exchange for honoring the rules, truck manufacturers have won more flexibility – like getting three years to comply, instead of one.

Truck dealers, however, are not a part of that partnership. And in New Jersey, they’re telling state lawmakers that the rules are unworkable.

A push to delay, or urgency to act?

New Jersey State Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese said a lobbyist for truck dealers inspired him to introduce a bill currently before the legislature that would delay the clean truck rules by two years. The public debate over that bill — which is not scheduled for a full vote — was unusually intense.

At a hearing over the bill earlier this month, there was a clear theme among the truck dealers who showed up to testify.

“We all want a cleaner environment, but we just can’t do it at this point, the way this is written,” said Frank Piazzola.

“I know we all want to do the right thing,” said Jack Licata. “But we just can’t right now.”

“We are not California,” said Spencer Campbell. “We don’t have the size, the capacity, nor have made the investments necessary to make ACT work.”

Dealers are, technically, not regulated by these rules — they apply to manufacturers. But dealers have to actually sell the vehicles. And they say that between high prices, and buyer concerns about charging and range limitations, they just can’t move enough EVs to make up at least 7% of the market. It’s particularly hard for the very largest trucks, which are called class 7 and 8 in industry jargon.

“The challenge here is very simple. There is no demand for EVs for class 7 through 8, especially, which I represent in New Jersey,” said Campbell, who sells both electric and diesel trucks. “That’s all we’re trying to tell you guys here.”

Environmental groups, in turn, said that because of the extra flexibilities built into the rules, they are feasible — and that there’s more at stake than dealership sales.

“We have the policies we need and they are fully achievable,” said Karla Sosa of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Others warned about the dangers of a delay. “There is a real cost in human suffering to waiting to implement these measures,” said Nicky Sheats of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance.

“There are people dying in my community from diesel fumes,” said Kelli Koontz-Wilson of the Coalition for Healthy Ports.

Another speaker brought tomatoes from his garden, harvested in December. He called it a sign of climate change, a reminder of the global stakes of this debate.

Where are truck makers in this debate? Well, it’s complicated. They are technically neutral: The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) and its member companies have agreed to not lobby against states adopting the ACT rules. That’s a requirement of their partnership with California that, in turn, lets them negotiate for flexibilities. Neither the trade group nor any of its members were at the hearing this month.

But the EMA has been in touch with New Jersey and other states to express concerns about parts of the regulations. Jed Mandel, the head of the EMA, said the members of his trade group have invested billions in EVs but worry that the mandates are “too much, too fast.”

Would a sales hit justify a delay?

Everyone involved in this debate agrees on one thing: There are real challenges to electrifying New Jersey’s fleet, particularly when it comes to the very largest trucks. Not all heavy-duty vehicles are available in zero-emission versions yet. Or those versions aren’t practical for every need, like long-haul trucking. The upfront costs of buying electric vehicles are significantly higher, and switching to electric trucks requires building charging infrastructure. And while 7% might not sound like a lot, as of last year EVs were less than 1% of heavy-duty truck sales in the state, according to Atlas Public Policy.

But regulators and environmental groups say those problems are actively being addressed.

“This program is not just feasible. It’s already well underway,” Shawn M. LaTourette, New Jersey’s commissioner of environmental protection, told NPR in an interview.

Manufacturers have already started to bank credits based on previous year’s sales, which the rules allow. LaTourette said for medium-duty vehicles, the industry as a whole is set to meet the requirements already, before the new year even starts.

The heavy-duty trucks, the class 7 and 8 that Spencer Campbell warned about, are more challenging. But even there, the industry only needs to sell 109 trucks, according to those preliminary numbers. That’s not even counting trucks sold in 2024, which can be counted toward 2025’s total. And there’s government funding to help with costs, including hundreds of millions of dollars for charging for these vehicles specifically.

Dealers say it’s not enough. And some point to California as a cautionary tale. While the percentage of electric trucks sold in the state has risen sharply, total truck sales have fallen since these rules went into effect, starting with trucks manufactured for model year 2024.

In the first 10 months of 2024, sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks fell 6%, and the largest trucks were down 20%, compared to the previous year, according to S&P Global Mobility data. Nationally, the market dropped 3% over that timeframe. The company’s Greg Genette said several factors are driving that decline, including ACT.

California and the other states embracing ACT are already adjusting the regulations to adapt to market realities. Take Washington state, which has already adopted these rules for trucks manufactured for model year 2025. There, truck makers are also on track for compliance in most vehicle categories. Still, for the biggest trucks, EVs are barely over 1% of sales — far short of the requirement. That’s according to data the state shared with NPR.

Washington state regulators say those rules are currently being adapted to make them more feasible. For example, one policy change under consideration would reduce the EV sales requirements for the biggest trucks by an estimated 90% or more in 2026.

In New Jersey, EV advocate Pam Frank says opposition to the rules has mixed misinformation — like claims that the regulations ban diesel trucks — with genuine challenges, like companies’ charging needs and higher truck prices. For the legitimate problems, she said, “we have answers to each of them.”

“This regulation should be going into effect as planned with all the flexibility in there,” she said, “and we should make sure that the dealers are not getting squeezed unfairly.”

A brewing fight

Similar debates have played out in other states adopting these rules, like New York and Oregon. So far, they’ve all stuck with their planned timelines.

It looks like that may also happen in New Jersey. Calabrese, the state lawmaker who introduced the bill to delay, said he doesn’t expect it to become law. His transportation committee voted unanimously to advance it, but he’s not expecting similar support from the state senate’s environmental committee – and the legislature is now out of session.

The rules will still go into effect on January 1.

But the fight won’t be over. This debate is over trucks, but another fight is coming.

California is also setting mandates for passenger car sales, with new rules that would ramp up to requiring 100% of the cars sold in the state to be emission-free (including plug-in hybrids). Currently, about 1 in 4 new cars sold in California fit the requirement. The national average is around 10%.

For model year 2026, sales of which begin next year, California will require 35% of new sales to be electric.

Laura Perrotta is the president of NJ CAR, a group representing car and truck dealers. She was at that hearing lobbying for a delay in the truck mandates — and when these EV mandates actually kick in for passenger cars, she said, “it’s going to cause real reckoning with the auto industry across the country.”

About a dozen states are currently planning to follow California’s car standards. Those rules are almost certain to wind up as the subject of a legal battle with the Trump administration. But before they do, they could face political battles closer to home.

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New Jersey

Chemistry Class | DEVILS NOW | New Jersey Devils

Published

1 hour ago

March 10, 2026

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Chemistry Class | DEVILS NOW | New Jersey Devils

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New Jersey

The first of Paramus’ three big mall makeovers is nearly complete

Published

13 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

The first of Paramus’ three big mall makeovers is nearly complete

One of three massive redevelopment projects at Paramus’ biggest shopping malls will finish construction this summer. Another will have to wait until 2027.

The two projects will bring hundreds of apartments and thousands of feet of additional retail space to Bergen Town Center and Paramus Park Mall, two of Bergen County’s biggest retail destinations. Both projects are the work of Carlstadt-based Russo Development LLC, which is also building a new headquarters in the borough.

The biggest mall redevelopment in town — a multiyear plan that could bring as many as 1,400 homes to Westfield Garden State Plaza — is also underway under the direction of a different developer. That project is expected to hold an official groundbreaking in the coming weeks.

The construction is “an opportunity for affordable housing to get built, which is certainly a big priority for almost every municipality in New Jersey right now,” Russo Development CEO Ed Russo said in a recent interview. He credited borough officials for making sure “there was additional investment and vibrance that was being added” to Paramus’ commercial center.

Paramus Park housing almost done

First in line for completion is Vermella Paramus, two mixed-use buildings with 360 one-, two- and three- bedroom apartments under construction next to the Paramus Park Mall, west of the Garden State Parkway.

The project will also have 8,000 square feet of onsite retail space. It will be built adjacent to the mall and the new Valley Hospital, according to a description on the company’s website.

One of the buildings will be finished next month, while the second is scheduled to finish construction in June, Russo said last week.

Bergen Town Center project has new name, timeline

The developer, alongside KRE Group, also plans to build two five-story buildings with 426 units and 5,000 square feet of retail at Bergen Town Center, off of Route 4. The project will be called Bergen Chapters, Russo said.

The housing will include 147 one-bedroom apartments to be sold at market rate and another 12 reserved as affordable. The project will also have 1,572 parking spaces, including lots from other areas of the mall property and two parking garages.

A building on the east side of the Bergen Town Center property that currently contains a former Kirkland’s, Red Robin and Recreational Equipment Inc will be knocked down for the project. Recreational Equipment Inc. closed in late January, so the property has only become vacant in the last month, said Russo. He expects the work to finish in late 2027.

Story continues after gallery.

Living at the mall

Paramus’ three big projects fueled speculation that other shopping centers in North Jersey would follow the example, as mall owners looked for ways to survive the rise of online retail.

But there hasn’t been a tremendous amount of mall redevelopment in New Jersey, Russo said.

Paramus’ situation is unique, he noted, with “three good size malls” all within the same town. Spurred in part by state affordable housing mandates, the borough council adopted zoning in 2016 that allowed for mixed-use development along its highway corridor. That was the impetus for the three mall makeovers, Russo said.

Other factors also made the borough’s commercial corridor especially suited for this type of hybrid development, he added.

“Paramus has always been considered, for many decades, as a shopping mecca between the malls, Route 17, Route 4 and the proximity to New York City,” said Russo. “It’s really been a vibrant retail community for many years.”

In addition to fulfilling affordable housing obligations, the zoning helped the borough attract new investment around the malls, boosting their long-term success, he added.

“The retail market has been affected in a larger part of New Jersey over the last number of years,” said Russo. “I think Paramus was very forward-thinking in the zoning that they did years ago.”

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New Jersey to Use AI to Score Standardized Writing Tests

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

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New Jersey to Use AI to Score Standardized Writing Tests

(TNS) — Artificial intelligence will be used to score most of the writing New Jersey students do on the new statewide standardized tests set to debut this spring, state education officials said.

The AI system will be used to grade student essays and short answers on the English Language Arts section of the statewide exams, according to a state-approved testing proposal. The “artificial intelligence” will be trained using scores generated by human scorers on practice tests that were given to students in October and November.

New Jersey is debuting a new type of state tests — called the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments-Adaptive — this spring. It will be given to students in grades 3 through 10 to test their knowledge of English, math and science.

There will also be a new version of the state’s high school exit exam for high school juniors, now called the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment-Adaptive.

Like the previous version of the test, known as the NJSLA, the exams will be given via computer. But the new version will be “adaptive,” meaning students will get different questions based on their previous answers on the exam — a practice that is supposed to make scoring the tests more precise.

The AI system will be used to score the essays and written questions, but there will still be some human scorers, state Department of Education Spokesperson Michael Yaple said.

If a student’s written response is identified as “unusual” or “borderline” it will be “flagged for human review,” Yaple said.

“The system regularly conducts quality assurance checks to ensure that the scores assigned by the automated scoring engine match human scores through strict quality controls,” he added.

Cambium, the company overseeing the new tests, does not use generative AI — the version of artificial intelligence used in ChatGPT-type platforms that can create something new and are known to sometimes hallucinate false or inaccurate information, Yaple said.

Instead, the automated scoring system will have strict parameters “with proven consistency, and human scoring remains the foundation of the process, validating accuracy at multiple checkpoints throughout the scoring workflow,” state education officials said in a statement.

Computerized scoring of New Jersey’s state tests is nothing new. Last year, about 90 percent of student essays on the NJSLA and the state high school exit exams were scored solely by an automated scoring system, Yaple said.

But some educators have concerns about the extensive use of AI to grade the new version of the tests that will eventually be taken by nearly all of New Jersey’s 1.3 million public school students.

Using a version of AI to score student writing is risky, said Steve Beatty, president of the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.

He said he would hate to see “some student fail on a computer-graded test only to find out later on that there was some sort of error.”

The NJEA is against high stakes testing in general, Beatty said. But if the tests are going to continue “then we want trained educators — humans — doing” the scoring.

If a student fails the AI-scored sections of the exams, there should be a plan to have the writing reassessed by a human, he said.

“They should go back to a person to be verified,” Beatty said.

NEW TESTING CONTRACT

New Jersey students will begin taking the new NJSLA-Adaptive exams during a month-long testing window between April 27 and May 29. The tests are usually given over several consecutive days.

The testing window for the new NJGPA-Adaptive high school exit exam for high school juniors will be from March 16 to April 1, according to a state Department of Education testing schedule.

The new statewide NJSLA and NJGPA tests were developed by Cambium Assessment, a company that won a $58.7 million, two-year contract with the state.

According to the Cambium proposal, Measurement Incorporated, a company located in Durham, North Carolina, will be responsible for providing and training the people who will do the human “handscoring” when AI-generated essay and written response scores are flagged for review.

In its proposal to the state, Cambium said the company assumes “25 percent of the overall responses will be routed for trained handscoring.”

New Jersey officials said AI was not used to create test items on the new version of the tests and artificial intelligence will not be used to determine which questions students see on the adaptive assessments.

Jeffrey Hauger, who served as director of assessments for the state Department of Education from 2010 to 2018, said New Jersey has a long history of using computers to help score the written portion of state tests. He later worked as an adviser to Pearson, the company that previously had the contract to provide the state NJSLA tests.

Around 2016, Hauger said the state started implementing a system that used one human and one automated scorer to assess each piece of student writing.

If a large discrepancy between the two scores was found, the essay would be read by a second human, he said.

“It was a tool for efficiency, but the human was always involved throughout the process back then,” Hauger said.

AI scoring is now more sophisticated, he said.

“Technology has improved. And so, it’s not as big of a leap now as maybe people think it is,” Hauger said.

During Gov. Phil Murphy’s time in office, the department started relying more on automated scoring and moving away from having each piece of writing evaluated by both a machine and a human, he said.

FLAGGING PROBLEMS

AI scoring has been controversial in other states.

In Massachusetts, AI grading errors were blamed for 1,400 incorrect scores on the state’s Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, known as the MCAS, last year.

In Texas, several districts questioned whether AI grading was fair on its statewide tests in recent years.

The Dallas Independent School District has challenged thousands of AI generated essay scores on Texas’ statewide STAAR standardized tests over the past two years.

Cambium and Pearson, the companies involved in New Jersey’s testing, both contributed to Texas’ standardized testing system.

In 2024, the Dallas school district asked the state to rescore 4,600 tests, sending them to the state to be rescored by humans.

About 44 percent of the rescored tests came back with higher scores after a human read them, said Jacob Cortez, Dallas’ assistant superintendent in charge of evaluation and assessment.

The district also sent thousands of AI-scored tests for rescoring last year and nearly 40 percent came back with higher scores from humans, the district said.

The accuracy rate for the AI-scored third grade tests was the most troubling, with 85 percent of those sent back showing an improved score when humans read the students’ work.

“That is not okay,” Cortez said.

The Dallas school district, which serves about 139,000 students, limited the number of tests it sent back for rescoring because it had to pay $50 for each test that did not receive an improved score, local officials said.

Cambium officials did not respond to requests for comment about the Dallas accuracy issues or the company’s AI scoring practices.

New Jersey officials declined to comment on questions about AI scoring accuracy in other states.

“New Jersey cannot comment on another state’s assessment and scoring process,” Yaple said.

Lily Laux, New Jersey’s new commissioner of education, also did not respond to a request to comment. In her previous job as Texas’ deputy commissioner of school programs, she helped design the state’s standardized testing system, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The problems with AI scoring in Dallas raise questions about the system, said Scott Marion, principal learning associate at the Center for Assessment, a nonprofit, nonpartisan consulting firm.

“Is it not being trained well? Is it not being trained on a diverse enough population?” Marion asked.

AI scoring makes financial sense but states also need to be careful not to overly rely on it, he said. He’s comfortable with about 80 percent AI-scored writing because systems still need human backups.

“We’ve been doing this for so long,” he said referring to the use of AI to score student writing.

Many students, teachers and parents may be surprised to know how much of writing in school is already scored by AI, education advocates said.

Many “parents have no idea this is a thing,” said Julie Borst, executive director of community organizing for Save Our Schools New Jersey, a statewide advocacy group.

She is concerned that students with unique writing styles might end up with lower scores on tests because AI is looking for specific words and phrases or a standard number of sentences for top scores.

Borst, whose organization has long-opposed high stakes standardized testing, said in the end, it will still be up to teachers to know where students are doing well and where they are struggling.

“The teacher is going to know where those weaknesses are. They’re going to know where those strengths lie,” she said. “You cannot tell that — at the student level — from a standardized test.”

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