Report Title:

Motor Vehicle Emissions; California Code; Rules

 

Description:

Requires the director of health to establish, by rule, motor vehicle emission standards by adopting the motor vehicle emission standards established by the State of California.

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1360

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to motor VEHICLES.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, which result from the burning of fossil fuels and other activities, have been implicated in global climate change.  Climate change, if it continues unabated, will likely have profound consequences on Hawaii's environment and quality of life.  Should heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions continue, current scientific consensus predicts a future very different from the one which Hawaii residents and visitors may envision.  In worst case scenarios, the Pacific Ocean may inundate most of Waikiki, the business district in Honolulu, and coastal resort areas on other islands.  Aquifers on all islands may become increasingly contaminated through saltwater intrusion, and storms and hurricanes with greater severity and frequency may strike the islands.  Droughts may be more prolonged, and subtle shifts in island microclimates may rapidly increase extinctions of endangered plants and animals.  By transitioning away from fossil fuel sources for electricity generation, Hawaii can play a pivotal role in demonstrating technologies that reduce humankind's contribution to global climate change.

     The legislature further finds that California has sought to address part of this challenge by adopting the nation's strictest vehicular emissions standards.  Based upon the "maximum feasible and cost-effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions" possible, the standards require that auto makers doing business in California begin implementing clean-running technology in new vehicles by 2009 and meet more stringent emission standards by 2016.  The standards call for cars and light trucks to reduce exhaust pollutants by twenty-five per cent, and larger trucks and sport utility vehicles must cut emissions by eighteen per cent.

     On January 26, 2009, President Obama issued a memorandum directing the Environmental Protection Agency to review a 2007 decision by the Bush administration to deny California and thirteen other states a waiver to set their own emission standards.

     Under the federal Clean Air Act, states may adopt the more stringent California program for its reduced automotive emissions or they must adhere to federal standards.   The thirteen states that have adopted California's emission standards include Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.  Together, these states have the potential to cut air pollution's public health risk significantly.  They also have the potential to influence automotive technologies that impact the way cars are built today.

     The purpose of this Act is to require the State to set motor vehicle emission standards that will protect our future generations by adopting the motor vehicle emission standards established in the California Code of Regulations.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 342B, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§342B‑    Motor vehicle emission standards; program to be established by rule.  (a)  No later than January 1, 2011, the director shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91, establishing and implementing the motor vehicle emission program standards of the State of California for passenger cars, light duty trucks, and medium duty passenger vehicles, and shall amend the rules from time to time, to maintain consistency with the California motor vehicle emission standards and title 42 United States Code section 7507 (section 177 of the federal Clean Air Act).

     (b)  The director shall convene an advisory group composed of industry and consumer group representatives, which shall review and comment on any proposed rules or changes to rules prior to adoption of the rules.

     (c)  This section shall not limit the authority of the director to regulate motor vehicle emissions for any other class of vehicle."

     SECTION 3.  In developing rules pursuant to section 2 of this Act, the director of health shall:

     (1)  Consider the technological feasibility of the rules;

     (2)  Consider the impact that the rules may have on the economy of the State, including:

         (A)  The creation of jobs within the State;

         (B)  The creation of new businesses or the elimination of existing businesses within the State; and

         (C)  The expansion of businesses currently doing business within the State;

     (3)  Provide flexibility, to the maximum extent feasible and consistent with this Act, in the means by which a person may comply with the rules, including authorizing a person to use alternative means of compliance, provided that the alternative means of compliance shall achieve an equivalent or greater reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases; and

     (4)  Provide appropriate enforcement and administrative penalties for any person or entity that violates the rules.

     SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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