Arizona has been one of a dozen states to voluntarily opted into following the same stringent emissions guidelines set forth by the state of California since 2008, but now with new leadership and new priorities the state will be the first to reverse course on the guidelines.
In a 5-1 vote by the Arizona Governor’s Regulatory Review Council this Tuesday, eCollege Times confirms that the state decided to repeal its Clean Cars law – first established in 2008.
“We believe this was the best course of action,” said Henry Darwin, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the organization which first requested the reversal. “We thought we had a very clear message from the Legislature to not adopt standards more stringent than the federal standard.”
The law had been modeled after the guidelines established by the California Air Resource Board, a state-run organization that has long prided itself in establishing stricter guidelines and emissions laws than the federal government – using the size of its auto market to force automakers to comply with special standards. At varying times the standards have forced automakers to make changes ranging from creating unique VIN-coded vehicles, only offering different, lower-output engines that available in other states, creating special engine computer mapping aimed at reducing emissions (and usually power as well) or even to offer certain numbers of low or no-emissions vehicles to offset carbon emissions or not be allowed to sell cars at all.
But some new studies suggest that complying with these regulations would create a larger burden on the state and force vehicles onto consumers that they do not yet wish to buy – namely electric cars. When the ADEQ raised the issue of the Clean Cars law with the state, it pointed to the lack of an infrastructure to support the green cars, as well as the lack of funds to create one at this time.
It will be interesting to see if other states facing budget deficits follow suit and choose to go back to the federal standard, or if the number of states willing to adopt the more stringent regulations will grow.
References
1.’State emissions…’ view
