GCSAA publishes specialized information on a frequent basis that drills down on top advocacy issues and activities.
During our time in Washington, D.C., for National Golf Day, the GCSAA Government Affairs Committee met with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to discuss numerous environmental topics and initiatives critical to golf course management. One of those topics was the industry’s concerns with the Clean Air Act waiver granted on Jan. 6, 2025, by the EPA to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) allowing CARB to implement zero-emissions standards for landscaping equipment sold in the state, regulations which had been in development for numerous years and failed to account for commercial equipment needs in the golf industry.
Administrator Zeldin was understanding of our message and recommended a follow-up meeting with EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). GCSAA soon after conducted that meeting and further relayed the industry’s cost and feasibility concerns with CARB’s regulation.
On June 12, 2026, GCSAA welcomed the announcement by the EPA that the agency would be seeking congressional consideration of that regulation, alongside three others, under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). If a simple majority in Congress passes a resolution of disapproval and it is signed by the President, California would lose the authorization allowing it to enforce these problematic small engine standards.
Soon after EPA submitted these waivers to Congress, California responded by filing a lawsuit seeking to block EPA’s action and arguing that waivers are not regulations, thus the CRA cannot be used to overturn them. Learn more about the announcement and lawsuit filed by the state.