Report Title:
Department of Health study; vehicle emissions
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
123 |
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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relating to a study of the problem of vehicle emissions and remote sensing devices and tax credits as solutions.
WHEREAS, Hawaii, due to location and prevailing wind conditions, is blessed with the cleanest air on Earth; and
WHEREAS, vehicles are a major source of air pollution with vehicle emissions contributing between thirty five and seventy percent of all ozone-forming emissions and at least ninety percent of all carbon monoxide emissions; and
WHEREAS, vehicle tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks account for almost a third of all air pollution in the United States; and
WHEREAS, roughly thirty percent of vehicles over five years old emit excessive pollution; and
WHEREAS, the average age of a passenger car in the United States is seven years old and fifty five percent of vehicles seven years or older emit excessive pollution; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that between ten and thirty percent of the vehicles in the United States cause a majority of the air pollution attributable to vehicle emissions; and
WHEREAS, preventative action and incentives to maintain or replace older vehicles could help maintain our pristine air quality; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, that the Department of Health is requested to conduct a study determining whether vehicle emissions pose a current or future threat to Hawaii's air quality; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to determine whether the use of remote sensing devices to identify high pollution emitting vehicles would be useful in determining the scope of any threat to air quality; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to determine whether the use of tax credits or other tax incentives to remove older vehicles and high pollution emitting vehicles would be useful in addressing the problem of vehicle emissions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of the Department of Health is requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Department of Health and the Governor of the State of Hawaii.
OFFERED BY: |
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