PHOENIX — In a multi-state lawsuit, a federal judge issued a final ruling that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) illegally withheld about $1 billion in funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program from Arizona, 19 additional states, and the District of Columbia — a win for Attorney General Kris Mayes.
“The money was owed to Arizonans and I got it back for us after Donald Trump tried to sweep it away. I will keep protecting funding and programming that makes life easier to afford and more efficient for the public,” said Attorney General Mayes. “My federal lawsuits are about protecting Arizona’s bottom dollar and the constitution I swore to protect.”
With this lawsuit, Attorney General Mayes recovered $15 million in current funding for Phoenix and future funding opportunities for Arizona communities. Other communities across Arizona – Mesa, Cochise County, the San Carlos Apache Tribal Nation, and Maricopa County – have previously benefitted from NEVI funds and have been able to implement public EV charging programs across the State. The City of Phoenix, however, was selected for a CFI grant in January 2025 and was not sent the $15 million they were awarded.
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 led by the attorneys general of Washington, California, and Colorado sued in May and won a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Tana Lin in June. Seven environmental non-profit organizations also joined the litigation.
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 Mayes, the coalition includes the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maryland, 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.
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.
