by Max Barry

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Region: Capitalist Libertarian Freedom Region

Today's poll centers around the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Their latest set of rules requires once legal diesel engines built before 2010 to either be replaced or retrofitted with expensive emission equipment.[1]

This new rule includes trucks, busses, fire trucks, construction equipment, refers, generators, and even federal government fleets. (Wonder how that is going to work out with the military?) The fun loving boys and girls at CARB fined Los Angeles County a quarter million dollars for violations.[2] (Talk about eating one's young...)

In addition to that, California is applying this to any engine operated in their state. So a trucker based in St. Louis would have to comply with the California emissions laws before driving in that state.

So effective Jan 31 of this year. About half the commercial trucks on the road in the United States are no longer legal to operate in California. Upwards of 80% of the construction equipment in this country falls under the same heading.[3] (Construction equipment lasts a really long time.)

There are those that say applying this regulation to trucks registered outside the state violates the commerce clause. Others, both in and out of the state are complaining the regulations are based on junk science and are nothing more then a money grab.

What do you think? The poll is up.

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[1] http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onrdiesel/documents/multirule.pdf
[2] http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2014/08/29/air-resources-board-fines-la-county-clean-air.html
[3] It is interesting to note that private RVs are specifically exempted from this rule. So it is ok to pollute if you are going to bring tourist money to the state.

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