New York state is co-leading a lawsuit with California against a final rule issued by the Trump administration that reduces penalties for automakers that fail to meet corporate average fuel economy standards, or CAFE.

The states alleged in the lawsuit filed Friday that the rule violates a section of federal law that mandates public agencies to revise civil penalties to account for inflation.

Before the final rule, automakers had to pay $14, adjusted for inflation, for every tenth of a mile per gallon that they fell below the CAFE standards. That was required under the 2015 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, the states said.

The new rule would repeal that amount and reduce the penalty for automakers to $5.50 per tenth of a mile per gallon, which the states said was below the inflation-adjusted penalty required by law. The rule was published in the Federal Register last week.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is co-leading the suit with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Both Democrats already have an extensive caseload against the Trump administration.

“This rule is just another misguided and reckless attempt by the Trump Administration to roll back the clock on our clean air standards, which is why we will stand up and fight to protect the health and well-being of New Yorkers and every person living in this country,” James said. “Without strong penalties for violating these fuel efficiency standards consumers, our economy, and our environment all remain in danger.”

The litigation was brought against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issued the rule.

The lawsuit was filed directly with the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan. New York and California are joined on the litigation by Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state, and the District of Columbia.

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