Washington State's House Clears Car Emissions Bill
Date: 22-Apr-05
Country: USA
A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire said she is expected to sign the bill early next week.
But the Washington law would go into effect, in the 2009 model year, only if neighboring Oregon also adopted emission regulations for vehicles sold there.
Supporters of the rules want common standards between the two states, which share a large volume of cross-border car purchases.
The House voted to accept amendments adopted last week by the state's Senate.
The legislation was modeled on California's new standards, the nation's first-ever rules designed to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to global warming.
The Senate, however, dropped some of California's provisions, including a quota for zero-emission vehicles.
Opponents said Washington should not let California write the rules for the state and warned they could push up the cost of new vehicles.
The rules for California, the nation's biggest vehicle market, will require automakers to cut emissions in cars and trucks by as much as 25 percent beginning with the 2009 model year, with cuts accelerating to about 30 percent in 2016.
US and foreign automakers have challenged California's standards in a lawsuit in a US District Court.
In addition to California, other states that have adopted tougher auto emissions standards include New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut.
