Posted on 07/07/2002 10:09:05 PM PDT by TheEaglehasLanded
The California Legislature has used a dirty trick to sneak through legislation Californians overwhelmingly oppose, AB 1058. They did it by changing the number of the bill in the dead of the night during a holiday weekend. The Bill, now called AB 1493, has been sent to the Governor. (To check out how your legislator voted, see below).
This is the last chance to stop this bill in the legislative arena. Please call 1-800 988-2588 and ask the Governor to veto this legislation. These are some of the reasons to oppose this bill:
• AB 1493 limits consumer choices in cars, trucks and SUV’s. This bill now says the CARB can’t ban certain types of vehicles. However, these non-elected bureaucrats are given the unlimited power to mandate design features, engine size and other requirements that will guarantee fewer choices of vehicles for Californians. They may not ban any class of vehicles outright, but their requirements will force manufacturers to limit availability of certain types of vehicles that cannot meet the mandates. These vehicles will be available in other states, just not in California. Certain vehicles will be banned indirectly in California.
• AB 1493 will cause vehicle prices to go up. It stands to reason that if CARB can design cars and force manufacturers and auto dealers to sell only the cars that CARB approves, costs will go up. And who do you think pays those costs? Consumers.
• AB 1493 contains a fake exemption for agriculture. Section 43018.5 (e) of the bill purports to exempt agricultural vehicles from these regulations. Unfortunately, none of the agriculture organizations in this state agree with that, which is why the California Farm Bureau Federation opposes this bill.
• This bill mandates that CARB adopt strict regulations to limit greenhouse gasses. But CARB only has to “consider” the impact on jobs and the economy. Under the terms of this bill, even if there is a negative impact on California’s economy or a big loss of jobs, or adverse consequences to lower income communities in the state, CARB still can adopt the regulations! Take a look at p. 7, Section 43018.5 (c), 1-2. It is not fair to mandate tough regulations on greenhouse gasses – and then only urge CARB to “consider” the consequences of their action. In the absence of any clear goals in this bill regarding the reductions of greenhouse gasses, the strict requirements for those reductions will override all other considerations in the bill. This will not be a one-time regulation that is adopted but a never-ending series of regulations.
PLEASE CALL GOVERNOR DAVIS AT 1-800-988-2588 and ask him to veto AB 1493.
Here’s how legislators voted on AB 1493. An absent vote is the same as voting aye.
AYES
Name, District, City
Elaine Alquist (D-CA 22nd) San Jose Dion Aroner (D-CA 14th) Berkeley Thomas Calderon (D-CA 58th) Montebello Tony Cardenas (D-CA 39th) Mission Hills Dennis Cardoza (D-CA 26th) Turlock Wilma Chan (D-CA 16th) Oakland Edward Chavez (D-CA 57th) City of Industry Judy Chu (D-CA 49th) Monterey Park Rebecca Cohn (D-CA 24th) Campbell Ellen Corbett (D-CA 18th) San Leandro Manny Diaz (D-CA 23rd) San Jose Marco Firebaugh (D-CA 50th) Cudahy Dario Frommer (D-CA 43rd) Glendale Jackie Goldberg (D-CA 45th) Los Angeles Sally Havice (D-CA 56th) Bellflower Robert Hertzberg (D-CA 40th) Van Nuys Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-CA 35th) Santa Barbara Fred Keeley (D-CA 27th) Santa Cruz Christine Kehoe (D-CA 76th) San Diego Paul Koretz (D-CA 42nd) West Hollywood Carol Liu (D-CA 44th) Pasadena John Longville (D-CA 62nd) San Bernardino Alan Lowenthal (D-CA 54th) Long Beach Carole Migden (D-CA 13th) San Francisco George Nakano (D-CA 53rd) Torrance Joe Nation (D-CA 6th) San Rafael Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-CA 61st) Montclair Jenny Oropeza (D-CA 55th) Carson Louis Papan (D-CA 19th) Millbrae Fran Pavley (D-CA 41st) Woodland Hills Simon Salinas (D-CA 28th) Hollister Kevin Shelley (D-CA 12th) San Francisco Joseph Simitian (D-CA 21st) Palo Alto Darrell Steinberg (D-CA 9th) Sacramento Virginia Strom-Martin (D-CA 1st) Duncans Mills Helen Thomson (D-CA 8th) Davis Juan Vargas (D-CA 79th) San Diego Carl Washington (D-CA 52nd) Paramount Howard Wayne (D-CA 78th) San Diego Herb Wesson Jr. (D-CA 47th) Culver City Patricia Wiggins (D-CA 7th) Santa Rosa
NOES
Name, District, City
Sam Aanestad (R-CA 3rd) Grass Valley Roy Ashburn (R-CA 32nd) Bakersfield Patricia Bates (R-CA 73rd) Laguna Niguel Russ Bogh (R-CA 65th) Cherry Valley Mike Briggs (R-CA 29th) Clovis Bill Campbell (R-CA 71st) Villa Park John Campbell (R-CA 70th) Irvine Joe Canciamilla (D-CA 11th) Pittsburg David Cogdill (R-CA 25th) Modesto Dave Cox (R-CA 5th) Fair Oaks Lynn Daucher (R-CA 72nd) Brea Richard Dickerson (R-CA 2nd) Redding Dennis Hollingsworth (R-CA 66th) Murrieta David Kelley (R-CA 80th) Idyllwild Jay La Suer (R-CA 77th) La Mesa Lynne Leach (R-CA 15th) Walnut Creek Bill Leonard (R-CA 63rd) San Bernardino Tim Leslie (R-CA 4th) Tahoe City Ken Maddox (R-CA 68th) Garden Grove Barbara Matthews (D-CA 17th) Tracy Dennis Mountjoy (R-CA 59th) Monrovia Robert Pacheco (R-CA 60th) Walnut Rod Pacheco (R-CA 64th) Riverside Anthony Pescetti (R-CA 10th) Rancho Cordova Keith Richman (R-CA 38th) Northridge George Runner (R-CA 36th) Lancaster Tony Strickland (R-CA 37th) Thousand Oaks Roderick Wright (R-CA 48th) South Central Los Angeles Mark Wyland (R-CA 74th) Escondido Phil Wyman (R-CA 34th) Phelan
ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING
Name District City Gil Cedillo (D-CA 46th) Los Angeles Lou Correa (D-CA 69th) Santa Ana John Dutra (D-CA 20th) Fremont Dean Florez (D-CA 30th) Shafter Tom Harman (R-CA 67th) Huntington Beach Jerome Horton (D-CA 51st) Inglewood Abel Maldonado (R-CA 33rd) Santa Maria Sarah Reyes (D-CA 31st) Fresno Charlene Zettel (R-CA 75th) Poway
Coalition Letter Sent To Governor Davis July 3, 2002
The Honorable Gray Davis FOR ENROLLED BILL FILE Governor, State of California The State Capitol, First Floor Sacramento, California 95814
Re: AB 1493 (Pavley) – Vehicular Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Recommended Action: VETO Dear Governor Davis:
We respectfully request that you veto AB 1493, a bill that would give the California Air Resources board unwarranted and unnecessary power to regulate so-called greenhouse gasses from passenger cars and light trucks. The end result of this bill would be to raise the price of sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and minivans in California for consumers, farmers and middle-income families.
AB 1493 would require the California Air Resources Board to create regulations to achieve the “maximum feasible, cost-effective reduction of greenhouse gasses” emitted by cars and trucks in California. The bill’s sponsors say this will reduce carbon dioxide and prevent global warming. Ironically, if every automobile and light truck and California were to be banned the reduction of greenhouse gasses worldwide would be less than 1/10th of 1%. (95% of greenhouse gasses are carbon dioxide.) No other government in the United States, including the federal government, regulates these emissions from mobile sources.
Unilateral regulation of greenhouse gasses by California would have almost no effect on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted globally, and would have no effect on global warming. California citizens would see no benefit in air quality from such reduction in emissions. Carbon Dioxide is not a pollutant, and is not regulated by the federal government. In fact, we exhale it with every breath we take. Plants and trees absorb it to make oxygen. It’s essential to life but is not an air pollutant.
The only way to reduce those emissions is if CARB seeks to force people to drive fewer miles, or force them to drive smaller, lighter vehicles. There is no magic technology that manufacturers can bolt on to a vehicle’s exhaust pipe that reduces CO2.
Governor, you know that CARB and the California Energy Commission jointly issued the report Petroleum Reduction Options in March 2002. The report clearly indicated that your own state agencies prefer to use higher taxes, fees and impose higher vehicle costs as a way to reduce carbon dioxide. The last minute amendments to the bill attempt to address the concerns of many Californians about higher cost – but totally fail.
The bill is vague about how the California Air Resources Board would control carbon dioxide emissions. Reading the report from your own agencies, however, makes it clear that CARB will simply try and design automobiles and light trucks. They intend to impose streamlining standards, design engines and transmissions and in multiple other ways force automobile makers to produce California-only cars. That sounds nice in concept but it inevitably means much higher costs for consumers. It would allow the Air Board to create a new bureaucracy to devise a regulatory scheme for CO2. Questions about the cost of this bill to consumers, the state government and taxpayers have not been answered. The last thing the state needs at a time of record budget deficits is another expansion of the state bureaucracy.
CO2 per mile from new U.S. vehicles has been reduced 56 percent for cars and 44 percent for light trucks since the mid 1970s. On a per capita basis, California has lower CO2 emissions than any of the other 49 states. In fact, this bill would result in the Air Board mandating unproven short-term technology programs that would divert scarce resources from private-sector efforts that would result in meaningful advances in emission-reduction technology. AB 1493 is not needed. Much is already being done by automakers and other companies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles and increase fuel economy.
• Hybrid vehicles, including hybrid sport utility vehicles, are on the market now and more will be offered for sale in the next few years. • The auto industry is making significant advances with diesel engines and diesel fuels. Diesels have about 30% better fuel economy than comparable gasoline engines, but CARB’s regulations will all but ban diesels. • Industry is working with the California Fuel Cell Partnership to develop the next generation of clean fuel technology.
We would suggest that there are additional reasons to veto this bill:
AB 1493 will limit vehicle choice and raise prices for cars, trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles. This bill gives bureaucrats at the California Air Resources Board unlimited power to impose design, engine size and other requirements that will result in fewer choices of vehicles for California consumers. These requirements will force automobile manufacturers to limit the availability of certain types of vehicles in California, thus raising costs. These vehicles will be available in other states, but not California.
A fake exemption for agriculture is in the bill. Section 43018.5 (e) is purported to give agricultural vehicles an exemption from these regulations. In fact, there can be no practical exemption for agriculture, because people in the agricultural community use the same vehicles for work and personal use. Pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles are among the most important pieces of machinery on the farm and in rural communities. Since farmers must use pickup trucks to do their job, any additional cost would have to be borne directly by farmers. Farmers would have little choice but to pay higher costs to operate their farms. This measure would put California farmers at an even greater disadvantage in a competitive global market. None of the agriculture organizations in this state agree with that, which is why the Farm Bureau Federation and the Western Growers Association oppose this bill.
This bill mandates that CARB adopt strict regulations to limit greenhouse gasses. But CARB only has to “consider” the impact on jobs and the economy. Under the terms of this bill, even if there is a negative impact on California’s economy or a big loss of jobs, or adverse consequences to lower income communities in the state, CARB still can adopt the regulations! (p. 7, Section 43018.5 (c), 1-2.) It is not fair to mandate tough regulations on greenhouse gasses – but only ask CARB to “consider” the consequences of their actions. In the absence of any goals in this bill regarding the reductions of greenhouse gasses, the strict requirements for those reductions will override all other considerations in the bill. This will not be a one-time regulation that is adopted but a never-ending series of regulations.
We believe the subject matter of AB 1493 is properly addressed by the federal government, not the state of California. The U.S. Senate passed the Byrd-Hagel Resolution in 1997 by a 95-0 vote. The Resolution says the Senate would look unfavorably on ratifying any global warming treaty that requires actions that would harm the U.S. economy.
Finally, we cite the process by which AB 1493 became law as a classic example of bad government. AB 1493 began as a bill on the Bureau of State Audits but stalled in the Senate. Three days before it was passed, during the weekend, Senators gutted the bill of its original contents, inserted the language from AB 1058 and jammed it through the Legislature without any of the usual committee reviews and approvals. This action was an obvious clear attempt to hide the bill from public scrutiny and frustrate the will of the people, who have sent more than 100,000 emails, letters and phone calls to you and the Legislature urging you to oppose AB 1058 and now AB 1493. If this bill is signed, it will lead to more public distrust in a system they perceive as being unresponsive to them.
This bill would cost consumers, taxpayers, farmers and working families more money for a needless expansion of state bureaucracy that would not result in reducing pollution or global warming. We respectfully ask that you veto AB 1493.
Please contact Bill George at: bgeorge@ka-pow.com with questions or comments.
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