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Thursday, December 6, 2007

Editorial: Board Shouldn't Change Rules

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    Judging by their nearly unanimous votes last week, the state Environmental Improvement Board and Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Board were enthusiastic about their decision to toughen up the state's vehicle-emission standards.
    The action means new cars and trucks sold in New Mexico must meet California's "clean car" standards, starting with 2011 models.
    Moving beyond the more lenient federal standards will increase miles per gallon and reduce emissions per mile— including global warming gases. That's a good thing. But the change is far from a done deal.
    For one thing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not signed off on the more stringent standards adopted by California lawmakers in 2002.
    For another, a lawsuit challenging the actions in New Mexico was filed the same day the boards voted. It argues that if New Mexico is going to follow California's example, it should follow it all the way— beginning with authorization by elected legislators, not appointed members of a board. Point well taken.
    This is a job for the Legislature. Elected officials who can be held accountable by voters are more inclined to worry about unintended consequences, like subjecting taxpaying, job-providing New Mexico car dealers to unfair competition across the state line.
    California legislators took that into account and prohibited the registration of non-complying new cars from other states— unless they had more than 7,500 miles on the odometer.
    The basic policy decision on standards is a good one, but there is much to gain by involving the Legislature. And since nothing is going to happen until California actually has a clean-car program for other states to follow, there's nothing to lose by doing so.