Gov. Fights Plan to Lift Smog Rule (Schwarzenegger)

November 21, 2003

Gov. Fights Plan to Lift Smog Rule
Schwarzenegger moves to protect California's ability to regulate small-engine pollution.

By Gary Polakovic, Times Staff Writer


Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is demonstrating his clout with Republicans in Washington as he takes a leading role in an effort to turn back a measure that would have stripped California of authority to regulate air pollution from small engines.

In his first week on the job, Schwarzenegger, along with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat; Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands); and other lawmakers, is trying to kill a proposal that Republican Sen. Christopher Bond has sought on behalf of the nation's largest manufacturer of engines for lawn mowers, portable generators and boat motors. The company, Wisconsin-based Briggs & Stratton Corp., has two plants in Bond's home state of Missouri.

Small off-road engines are a rapidly growing pollution source and will soon release more smog-forming emissions than automobiles, according to the state Air Resources Board

Bond succeeded in getting the measure through the Senate, but after congressional leaders heard from Schwarzenegger and the state's new secretary for environmental protection, Terry Tamminen, members of a House and Senate conference committee rejected Bond's move late Wednesday.

Although Bond is still trying to re-craft the measure to impose other restrictions on states seeking to regulate the machines, Schwarzenegger's move won praise from environmental activists. They say that the turnabout would never have happened without his active involvement. (snip/...)

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-smog21nov21,1,1677429.story?coll=la-headlines-california

Arnold SchwarzeNazi actually doing something...intelligent and progressive?

Nah...right?

He's probably more progressive than the Democrat who got elected in Louisiana last week. And he's got more real scandals in his closet than the rightwingers could ever have hoped to invent about the Clintons.

McClintock would have been the guy to enact a consistent GOP policy of ecorape-and-pillage. He was the real republican candidate in the race. The consolation prize for Dems is that Ahnold beat his ass hard.

In the Salon article, Bobby said Arnold asked him what to do on the environment in California. He said they had a great conversation and that Terry Tamminen was who he recommended. So yeah, Arnold may well try to do a good job on the environment in California. And you have to know when he screws up he's got the force of Bobby on his ass, pronto! And I think he'll try to do a good job on education too and when he screws up there, he'll have Teddy on his ass. I think it's going to be an interesting couple of years!

Maybe he will turn out to be on our side. I doubt it, but anything is possible in California.

...for appearance sake. Anyone who has an R next to their name is a pawn of Rove.

Don't be fooled.