SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A judge Thursday upheld a move by Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Oregon environmental officials to adopt California's tough new vehicle emission standards to reduce greenhouse gases.
Marion County Circuit Judge Mary Mertens James rejected arguments by the auto industry and by Republican lawmakers who said the Democratic governor ignored the wishes of the Legislature by having the state Department of Environmental Quality move to adopt the new standards.
Specifically, the judge said Kulongoski acted within his authority when he used a procedure known as a lineitem veto to clear the way for the tougher tailpipe standards.
Kulongoski used that veto to delete a provision that lawmakers tucked into an environmental budget bill in 2005 to bar the administration from spending money to adopt California's strict vehicle emissions standards.
Kulongoski's veto of that provision touched off the lawsuit by Republican Senate Leader Ted Ferrioli, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and more than a dozen car dealers seeking to block the tougher rules.
Acting at Kulongoski's behest, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission in December adopted new standards that will take effect in the 2009 model year. They will apply only to new cars and light trucks, not vehicles already on the road.
"The Clean Cars program is one of the most important environmental decisions in Oregon's storied environmental history. It marks the beginning of Oregon's effort to combat global warming," said Jeremiah Bauman of the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group.
Adoption of the California standards by Oregon will create a "clean car corridor" from Canada to Mexico. That's because the Washington Legislature passed a similar measure last year with a provision that the requirement would take effect only if Oregon institutes the stricter standards.
Seven Eastern states also have moved to adopt the tougher standards — New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and Rhode Island.
State environmental officials estimate that the California rules will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cars and light-duty trucks 18 percent by 2020.
Kulongoski praised Thursday's court ruling as a major step toward cleaner cars.
"This is a victory for everyone who cares about global warming, the air we breathe and our children's health," he said.
But car industry representatives have said the California standards won't make cars that much cleaner but could add as much as $3,000 to the cost of a new vehicle.
Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli, who joined with the auto industry in challenging Kulongoski's move, said no decision had been made whether to pursue a legal appeal to try to block the rules or to bring up the issue in the Legislature again.
Ferrioli accused the governor of ignoring the Legislature.
"He presents the image of one who supports public debate but shows his true colors as one who believes that his ends justify any means," the GOP leader said. Thursday's court ruling didn't deal with environmental issues but instead focused entirely on the way Kulongoski put the state on track to adopt the new tailpipe standards.
The lawsuit filed by the auto industry and the Republicans contends that the governor can use his authority to delete a single spending program from appropriations bills but not a "legislative condition" set on a particular program.
But the judge sided the state's lawyers who argued that the Oregon constitution gives the governor the authority to line-item veto a "single item" from a budget bill, but doesn't specifically limit what kind of item that can be.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
