U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chairperson Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced legislation that would allow states to draft their own regulations on vehicle emissions, according to a report published in Roll Call on May 19.
The Committee is expected to consider her proposed legislation tomorrow. It would waive the federal requirement for state conformity to national vehicle emissions standards, reversing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision made last year denying California the right to implement its own new-car emission standards.
Roll Call quoted Boxer on the new proposed legislation: “The Bush Administration at the highest levels killed the California waiver. The people of California and the other states have a right to know how this indefensible decision happened, and we demand that EPA and the Bush White House turn over the documents we have asked for immediately.”
The automotive and trucking industries have generally advocated a uniform national emissions standard rather than permitting each state to establish its own vehicle emission standards.
