Posted on 07/19/2007 10:07:06 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO -- A state Senate hearing not only confirmed Wednesday that the governor's administration purchased a fleet of alternative fuel vehicles that have yet to burn anything but gasoline, but lawmakers also suggested that the vehicles were purchased to benefit a specific automaker that has a cozy relationship with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: General Motors.
Auto manufacturers and state officials confirmed that the contract specifications for the fleet purchases were dramatically changed two years ago in such a way that only GM cars met the requirements.
"What they did was create a sole source contract," said Sen. Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield, who headed the three-hour hearing in the Capitol. "This is not about good public policy. This is not about being green. It's about politics that gave GM an edge."
After the hearing, Mary Beth Stanek, director of GM's Environmental, Energy and Safety division, confirmed that they were "the only ones that qualified."
GM officials added, however, that the bid was competitive and legal and that they believe they were not given any special consideration.
Schwarzenegger administration officials said the governor had no knowledge of or involvement with shaping the contract requirements.
Others are suspicious, however, especially given the automaker's financial support of the governor's causes, including more than $47,000 in campaign contributions to Schwarzenegger since 2004 and a loan of at least six cars used during his trip to Japan last year, where he promoted American businesses, including GM.
Florez has expressed concerns over prior reports that one of the governor's nonprofit foundations received millions in donations from GM with money flowing into the private accounts after he took office.
Florez and Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-San Luis Obispo, vowed Wednesday to further probe the relationship between GM and the governor, saying they are concerned about several connections, including Schwarzenegger's promotion of the Hummer -- another GM product.
The hearing Wednesday was called in response to a MediaNews investigation that revealed the administration has purchased 1,138 "flex-fuel" vehicles -- Chevy Impala sedans and Silverado pickups that can run on high-grade cleaner-burning ethanol, but instead have burned nothing but gasoline.
The state touted the buys as a major effort in greening the fleet.
The state changed its contract bid specifications for alternative fuel vehicles for model years 2006 and 2007 to include "flex-fuel" vehicles as an option.
The contract specified they had to be capable of running on E85, an ethanol-gas mixture, said Rob Cook, former deputy director of the state's General Services department, which purchased the vehicles.
Only GM had such vehicles available that also met another requirement: certification from the state Air Resources Board that allows them to sell in California.
General Services officials insisted the bid process was legal and open.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Florez's accusation was unfair when he suggested that GM possibly benefited from its close relationship with the governor.
"It is shameful," McLear said, "that Senator Florez would fabricate a completely baseless charge like that."
Lawmakers, however, were infuriated by repeated claims by Schwarzenegger officials on Wednesday that the cars are environmentally friendly.
When the Impala, a large sedan, runs on the E85 ethanol, it will emit about 6.5 tons of greenhouse gases annually, but it emits 8.3 tons when it runs on gasoline.
The figures come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Web site and are calculated for every 15,000 miles a car travels. The site also shows that many of the smaller model sedans in the state's fleet, which run exclusively on gas, are less polluting.
"Clearly, there are vehicles other than flex-fuel vehicles that are cleaner," said Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, later adding, "The administration needs to align their actions on alternative fuels with their rhetoric. We're going to stay on them until they do."
In their defense, Schwarzenegger officials repeatedly said that federal laws forced them to buy thousands of alternative fuel vehicles they cannot currently fill with cleaner fuels.
In California, the problem with ethanol-burning vehicles is that there is only one place in the state where the fuel is available -- a privately owned station in San Diego that the state doesn't use.
Both Lieu and Florez, however, pointed out that the U.S. Department of Energy allows state governments to apply for waivers when they can't buy a truly green fleet.
"Why didn't you apply?" Florez asked. "Why don't you?"
Cook, the former General Services' deputy director who now has a new appointment with the governor, insisted that the state must also show "leadership" by buying the cars so the stations will eventually be built.
"Demand creates supply," Cook said.
The first of 47 state-funded E85 stations should be open in December 2009. That's four years after the first cars hit the road.
In the meantime, Cook said, the state will go out to bid, as soon as today, to get the E85 fuel for a single pump inside a garage a few blocks from the Capitol. He couldn't say how many cars and trucks that would fuel.
Florez and Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-San Luis Obispo, vowed Wednesday to further probe the relationship between GM and the governor, saying they are concerned about several connections, including Schwarzenegger’s promotion of the Hummer — another GM product.
The hearing Wednesday was called in response to a MediaNews investigation that revealed the administration has purchased 1,138 “flex-fuel” vehicles — Chevy Impala sedans and Silverado pickups that can run on high-grade cleaner-burning ethanol, but instead have burned nothing but gasoline.
The state touted the buys as a major effort in greening the fleet.
Business as usual in StinkyTown.
The Kennedy family now runs California. Arnold the fool has lost all control of the script and given the state over to the director. The Kennedy family.
Poor Arnie (bless his little heart) caught with his finger in the cookie jar.
—gee whillikers—another nail in the coffin of the attempt to amend the Constitution to allow AAAhhhnnoolllddd to become president-—
Green Greed ping
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