California Senate committee OKs new emissions bill
Date: 01-May-02
Country: USA
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the bill, AB1058, by a vote of 8-3.
The measure, which passed the state Assembly in January, now goes to the full Senate which could vote on it as early as next week. To become law, it must then return to the Assembly for a concurrence vote before being submitted for the signature of Gov. Gray Davis.
The bill, by Democratic Assemblywoman Fran Pavley of Woodland Hills, would require the state's Air Resources Board to adopt regulations that would achieve "the maximum feasible reduction" in emissions of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), emitted by cars and light-duty trucks, the category that includes sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
The regulations, which should be completed by 2005, would not take effect until at least Jan. 1, 2006. Under an amendment to the bill Monday, auto makers would have until 2009 to come up with technological changes or modifications to comply with the new standards.
The proposal has been attacked by representatives of the automotive industry, who have called it a "driving tax" that may be intended to drive a wedge between Californians and their beloved SUVs.
Some 47 percent of passenger vehicles sold in the nation's most-populous state are SUVs, minivans or light trucks - a percentage that has tripled over the last 30 years.
CALIFORNIA CAN SET OWN STANDARDS
Because California's Air Resources Board was established before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was formed under the Clean Air Act of 1970, California is unique in its ability to impose air quality standards independent of federal regulation.
The state air board already sets strict standards for tailpipe emissions of smog-causing pollutants like nitrogen oxides.
Pavley said Monday that auto makers should be able to comply with the provisions of the bill, noting that Ford was already coming out with a gas/electric "hybrid" SUV that could bring emissions down.
"A lot of automakers have cars in the works that will offset CO2 emissions," Pavley said.
She added that some of the auto industry's more alarming interpretations of the bill's effects were far-fetched.
"The automakers are talking about trip fees and gasoline taxes, but the ARB has no legal authority to implement those kinds of measures. Only the legislature does and no one is talking about anything like that," she said.
Fuel economy is regulated by the federal government, which last month rejected a proposed 50-percent boost in fuel-efficiency for gas-guzzling cars and SUVs. Existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards, require passenger cars to average 27.5 miles per gallon, while SUVs, along with minivans and other vehicles in the "light truck" category, need only achieve 20.7 mpg.
The California measure follows a decision by the Bush Administration not to endorse the 1997 Kyoto climate change agreement, an international pact designed to cut emissions of man-made gases many scientists see as responsible for fast-rising global temperatures.
The bill's sponsors say they were spurred to act in part because of the potential threat that global warming presents for California, including potential reductions in water supplies and a projected doubling of catastrophic wildfires.
(Deena Beasley in Los Angeles contributed to this story).