Today, the Arizona legislature passed HB2017 intending to put the
Clean Cars Program on hold and also make it impossible for the Governor
to effectively participate in the Western Climate Initiative. This
effort comes less than a week after the Governor’s Regulatory Review
Council voted in favor of the Clean Cars Program citing the legal
authority for Arizona to proceed once the federal government
acknowledges the right of the states on this issue. In passing the
Clean Car Standards, Arizona joins 13 other states, over a third of the
U.S. market.
The Clean Cars Program known for limiting
health-damaging pollution from automobiles and paving the way for the
widespread introduction of technologies such as hybrid-electric and
fuel-cell vehicles, direct-injection engines, advanced transmissions,
improved air conditioning systems, and other technologies with the
potential to reduce pollution, previously received a unanimous
recommendation from the Governor’s Climate Change Advisory Group
(CCAG). The CCAG was comprised of diverse stakeholders including
utility, business, public health, environmental, tribal and other
leaders.
Aside from the stakeholder process, over 75 small
businesses and organizations from across the state have stated their
support for the Clean Cars Program in Arizona. In addition, thousands
of Arizonans have written letters, signed postcards and sent emails to
urge the advancement of the Clean Cars Program.
"There are only
two options for a state: either the federal standard or the clean car
standard. The clean car standard results in cleaner air and lower
total transportation costs," stated Jeff Schlegel, Arizona
representative for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP).
"The federal standard results in dirtier air and higher total
transportation costs due to higher fuel use and gas prices. It is time
to stop the delay tactics and move the clean car standard forward in
Arizona."
"Republicans for Environmental Protection does not
believe that good policy is made when the sole intention is to thwart
action by agencies previously given legislative authority to act," said
Tina Beattie, Arizona coordinator for Republicans for Environmental
Protection. "We also are concerned greatly by removing Arizona from
the Western Climate Initiative as Arizona's economic interests need to
represented within the region."
“Through their vote to put the
Clean Cars Program on hold, the legislature failed to see the warning
signs of global warming in our state and ultimately took a wrong turn,”
stated Diane E. Brown, Executive Director of the Arizona Public
Interest Research Group (Arizona PIRG). Brown pointed to the auto
industry as leading the charge against the Clean Cars Program in
Arizona and states across the country and added, “The auto industry
needs to shift gears from spending money on lawyers and lobbyists
trying to halt clean air improvements to putting cleaner vehicles on
the roads to reduce the brown cloud, lessen asthma attacks and provide
some relief to consumers at the gas pump.”
“If we leave it to
the big utilities and the auto manufacturers, who brought this bill to
the legislature, Arizona would just sit on its hands relative to
cleaning up our air and reducing the emissions that contribute to
global warming,” said Sandy Bahr, Conservation Outreach Director for
the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “Fortunately, most Arizonans
and the governor support a different strategy – our health, our
economy, and the future of our children depend on us acting now to
address these critical issues.”
