Opponents of the tailpipe-emissions bill accused some members of the Legislature of hypocrisy for supporting the bill while driving less-than-fuel-efficient SUVs at taxpayer expense. How valid is the allegation?
Assembly lawmakers who opposed the bill drive cars that average about 19.1 mpg, or about 9 percent less than the state average of 20.7. Supporters’ vehicles average about 21.5 mpg, or about 7 percent better than the state average.
In the Senate, bill supporters’ vehicles average about the same as the rest of the state, while bill opponents’ mileage was about 9 percent less.
Just under half the members in each house drive SUVs, mostly Ford Explorers. One lawmaker, Gloria McLeod, D-Chino, drives a Toyota Prius, a hybrid vehicle that averages 48.5 mpg.
Here is how the Orange County delegation voted on the bill, the vehicles they drive and the mileage they get. All cars listed here are leased by the state as part of the legislators’ benefits package, except for John Campbell’s and Joe Dunn’s, which are privately owned.
Vote on AB1493 |
Vehicle |
Miles per gallon (city / highway) |
|
ASSEMBLY |
|||
Pat Bates |
No |
1999 Dodge Durango |
13/19 |
Bill Campbell |
No |
2002 Ford Explorer |
16/21 |
John Campbell |
No |
2002 Saab 9.3 |
23/33 |
Lou Correa D-Santa Ana |
Did not vote |
1997 Ford Expedition |
12/18 |
Lynn Daucher |
No |
2001 Cadillac Catera |
17/24 |
Tom Harman |
Did not vote |
2001 Chrysler 300M |
18/26 |
Ken Maddox |
No |
2000 Ford Explorer |
15/23 |
SENATE |
|||
Dick Ackerman |
No |
2001 Ford Explorer |
14/22 |
Joe Dunn |
Yes |
1993 Cadillac Seville |
18/22 |
Ross Johnson |
No |
2002 GMC Envoy |
13/22 |
But automakers insist carbon-dioxide emissions cannot be eliminated.
July 6, 2002
By JIM WASSERMAN
The Associated Press
Smoother-rolling tires, quick-shifting transmissions and even credits for telecommuting. These are ways California may curb carbon-dioxide emissions if Gov. Gray Davis signs AB1493.
Though California's proposed war on tailpipes doesn't begin until 2009, experts and automotive authorities say there are countless ways to wage it. They cite prospects for more hybrid gas-electric cars and engines that shut down at traffic lights.
They also tout cleaner-burning natural gas.
Among suggestions are financial incentives for fuel-efficient tires that increase mileage by 5 to 8 percent and greater use of natural-gas fuels to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 20 percent.
"There are continuously variable transmissions that shift through large numbers of gears and smoother transmissions that are not on the market, but are on the shelf," offers Russell Long, director of the Bluewater Network, the San Francisco-based environmental group that backed bill.
"It may be slightly more expensive," he says, "but not much."
Jerry Martin, spokesman for the Air Resources Board, which would write regulations to implement the law, says automakers won't have to invent new technology. He cites technical improvements already in motion to make cars cleaner and more efficient. Among them: variable cylinder valve timing to cut carbon-dioxide emissions about 5 percent and cylinders that stop when the vehicle isn't moving - cutting emissions up to 6 percent.
Solutions that aren't in the mix include new taxes on gasoline or sport utility vehicles. The Air Resources Board also can't force carmakers to sell lighter vehicles, require lower speed limits or make Californians drive less. Those restrictions on the air board were added to the bill to undercut an auto industry advertising blitz that suggested all were possibilities.
A consortium of 13 American, European and Japanese automakers is vowing to explore "any option" to block the bill. Industry lobbyists have long maintained that no technology exists to remove carbon dioxide from vehicle exhaust.