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CBS13) SACRAMENTO A state lawmaker wants to take aim at the wallets of people who buy gas-guzzling vehicles. The new tax is being proposed by a San Mateo County Assemblyman.
Taraiaka Swanson loves her SUV, but says she'd drive a U-Haul truck or a bus, if she could.
"I had a smaller car for 10 days and I ended up taking it back," she says.
It's not out of blatant disregard for the environment. With three active kids and two elderly parents who can't drive, Swanson's car is frequently full.
"The other side of my life is that I'm a caretaker for my parents and transport them to all medical visits and other errands throughout the week and one of them I use the wheelchair for,” she says.
Swanson says filling up her beloved suburban is pricey, but a proposed bill could unload another financial burden. If California Assemblyman Ira Ruskin gets his wish, starting in 2011, drivers would have to shell out an extra $1,200 when they purchase new cars that spew higher levels of pollution.
"We have 20 million cars on the road in California. We've made a decision to fight global warming. We can't do it without getting cleaner cars on the road,” says Ruskin.
Buyers of cleaner burning cars would receive a rebate.
"It's not a bill about a particular type of car or light truck. It's about clean versus dirty vehicles. It's about the efficiency of the engine in emitting fewer gases," says Ruskin.
The bill includes exemptions for small businesses and vehicles for transporting the disabled. While Swanson does shuttle around her wheelchair-bound mother, she hasn't modified her car, so she wouldn't be eligible. Car sellers are likely to fight the proposal, claiming most large vehicles are used appropriately, and the bill is misguided.
Similar bills have been introduced and failed in the past, but Ruskin believes the political climate has changed enough to give his bill a chance.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting In
I think this one will fail as well as once again some are trying to use economics to regulate what we drive.
http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_098192637.html
Taraiaka Swanson loves her SUV, but says she'd drive a U-Haul truck or a bus, if she could.
"I had a smaller car for 10 days and I ended up taking it back," she says.
It's not out of blatant disregard for the environment. With three active kids and two elderly parents who can't drive, Swanson's car is frequently full.
"The other side of my life is that I'm a caretaker for my parents and transport them to all medical visits and other errands throughout the week and one of them I use the wheelchair for,” she says.
Swanson says filling up her beloved suburban is pricey, but a proposed bill could unload another financial burden. If California Assemblyman Ira Ruskin gets his wish, starting in 2011, drivers would have to shell out an extra $1,200 when they purchase new cars that spew higher levels of pollution.
"We have 20 million cars on the road in California. We've made a decision to fight global warming. We can't do it without getting cleaner cars on the road,” says Ruskin.
Buyers of cleaner burning cars would receive a rebate.
"It's not a bill about a particular type of car or light truck. It's about clean versus dirty vehicles. It's about the efficiency of the engine in emitting fewer gases," says Ruskin.
The bill includes exemptions for small businesses and vehicles for transporting the disabled. While Swanson does shuttle around her wheelchair-bound mother, she hasn't modified her car, so she wouldn't be eligible. Car sellers are likely to fight the proposal, claiming most large vehicles are used appropriately, and the bill is misguided.
Similar bills have been introduced and failed in the past, but Ruskin believes the political climate has changed enough to give his bill a chance.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting In
I think this one will fail as well as once again some are trying to use economics to regulate what we drive.
http://cbs13.com/topstories/local_story_098192637.html
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