State agencies are still not complying with a 2017 regulation requiring them to track and report on the carbon emissions from the vehicles they own, CommonWealth Beacon has confirmed.

That regulation, a Baker-era initiative borne out of a landmark court ruling a decade ago that found the state needed to implement stricter rules to meet mandated climate commitments, has not been followed since it took effect in 2019. The rule also spells out specific annual emissions reductions for the state’s vehicle fleet.

The emissions reports are due on March 1 each year, but none were filed again this year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Instead, the DEP — the agency charged with enforcing the rule — contends that the 2017 vehicle fleet regulation was “effectively superseded” by a 2021 executive order from then-Gov. Charlie Baker that sought to completely electrify the state’s vehicle fleet by 2050.

Baker’s order set targets for the state to procure electric vehicles and install charging stations at state facilities but doesn’t mention the 2017 regulation requiring the emission reports and reductions.

“Massachusetts continues to lead the way by electrifying our state fleet, as well as investing in public charging infrastructure, promoting EV adoption, and supporting companies, school districts, and municipalities in electrifying their fleets,” Lauren Moreschi, a spokesperson for DEP, said in a statement. “Massachusetts has consistently implemented the approach laid out in Governor Baker’s Leading by Example executive order to acquire electric vehicles for the state fleet and regularly track progress, and is exceeding those goals.”

In 2014, Conservation Law Foundation and another advocacy group filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts alongside youth plaintiffs to compel the state to do more to combat climate change. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in their favor in 2016, finding that Massachusetts must impose more stringent regulations to cut pollution to comply with the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act, which established ambitious climate commitments.

The Baker administration, in response to that ruling, issued a suite of six rules, one of which seeks to limit emissions from the state vehicle fleet.

Now, though, the state’s interpretation that a later executive order from Baker supersedes this regulation isn’t sitting well with advocates and legal experts — and risks leaving the public in the dark about the actual pollution stemming from state vehicles.

The Baker order could in theory serve as a complement to the 2017 rule, but treating it as a full substitute is where “the state is falling short,” said Seth Gadbois, staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation.