A Word About HB 2017

From one of my colleagues:

Late last year, a bi-partisan majority of Congress passed and the president signed into law H.R. 6, which requires that fuel economy standards be increased by a minimum of 40% between now and 2020. Last week, the U. S. Department of Transportation opened a rulemaking proceeding that proposes an increase from the present 27.5 miles per gallon (MPG) for cars to 35.7 MPG by 2015, and from 23.5 MPG for light trucks to 28.6 MPG by 2015.

Here is the link to the federal rulemaking now underway:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.43ac99aefa80569eea57529cdba046a0/

This is the type of information Arizona should take into account in deciding what measures should be undertaken - and is information that was not available when the Governor's Climate Change Advisory Group discussed adopting California fuel economy standards in 2006. Additionally, the State must have a very clear understanding of the costs of these measures, and the relationship of those costs to the alleged benefits. A great deal of important information of this nature is being ignored in the ADEQ rulemaking package scheduled for review by the Governor's Regulatory Review Council next Tuesday, May 6, in which it is proposed that Arizona adopt California's fuel economy standards. In contrast, the legislative process is designed to thoughtfully surface and address these types of relevant and timely points of information.

HB2017 simply assures the opportunity for the Legislature to perform its constitutional responsibilities on this important subject.