Moving toward the 2012 session...
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VERMONT IS THE LONE NORTHEASTERN U.S. STATE WITHOUT A TRUCK IDLING REDUCTION LAW.
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Legislation to restrict the idling of vehicles did not pass in the 2011 session. H.154 and S.81, House and Senate companion bills titled as: An Act Relating to Idling of Heavy-Duty Motor Vehicles, are bienium bills and will therefore continue to be debated in the 2012 session. Senate Transportion has been, and will likely continue to be, the bottleneck for passage of these bills. Led by Chair, Richard Mazza, this committee does not support a law to restrict idling, believing that education alone is the solution, despite the fact Vermont is now the lone Northeastern U.S. state without a truck idling reduction law or regulation. A regulation is an option that could come out of the Agency of Natural Resources or the Agency of Transportation, with support of the administration.
Read the yellow box, below, for what citizens can do to push for a law out of the legislature or a regulation.
2011 LEGISLATIVE SESSION--VEHICLE IDLING LEGISLATION
January 20: Testimony was given ahead of bill introduction before Senate Transportation and Senate Natural Resources & Energy.
TESTIMONY:
• Rebecca Ryan, Director, Health Promotion and Public Policy, American Lung Association in Vermont
• Wayne Michaud, Director, Idle-Free VT--TESTIMONY
February 1: HOUSE: H.154: Rep. David Sharpe (D-Addison-4) introduced H.154 - an act relating to idling of heavy-duty motor vehicles.
This bill has 7 co-sponsors: Mollie S. Burke, Johannah Leddy Donovan, Sarah Edwards, Alice Miller, Mark B. Mitchell, George W. Till, Rachel Weston.
STATUS: February 1: Read First Time and Referred to the House Natural Resources and Energy committee.
February 24: SENATE: S.81: Sen. Claire Ayer (D-Addison District) introduced S.81 - an act relating to idling of heavy-duty motor vehicles.
This bill has 14 co-sponsors: Tim Ashe, Philip Baruth, Sally Fox, Peter W. Galbraith, Harold Giard, Sara B. Kittell, Virginia "Ginny" Lyons, Mark A. MacDonald, Dick McCormack, Hinda Miller, Anthony Pollina, Diane Snelling, Robert Starr, Jeanette K. White.
STATUS: March 8: Read First Time and Referred to the Senate Transportation committee.
March 16: S.81: TESTIMONY before Senate Transportation: Edward Miller, Attorney, Vermont Truck and Bus Association
YOUR LEGISLATORS & GOVERNMENT NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU IN SUPPORT OF IDLING LEGISLATION
While truck idling bills H.154 & S.81 did not pass in the 2011 session, they are bienium bills and therefore will pick up next session. Or, idling restriction could come as a regulation from the Agency of Natural Resources or another state agency.
Please contact your Representatives and Senators in support of these bill for the 2012 legislative session. Or, contact the Agency of Natural Resources Secretary's Office at 802-241-3600. Also consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in favor of a law or regulation on heavy-duty vehicle idling. All motor vehicle idling legislation/regulation can be requested, but success is much less likely.
Quick talking points and suggested reading:
• Needless fuel waste & engine wear = lost company profits
• Air quality: diesel exhaust contains particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, voltile organic compounds, benzene, arsenic and formaldehyde - negatively impacting the health of drivers and people in vicinity
- Vermont's transportation greenhouse gas emissions, based on a geographic calculation, are nearly double the U.S. average
• Of the 11 northeastern U.S. states, Vermont is the lone state without a truck idling reduction law
• A truck idling law in Vermont will make our educational efforts more effective; fleet operators will be more willing to adopt idling reduction policies to be compliant with the law.
• Read this document from the American Lung Association in Vermont: Eliminating Unnecessary Diesel Idling: Everybody Wins!
• Review this document from the EPA New England: "What You Should Know About Truck Engine Idling"
• Read this Feb. 2, 2011 Times Argus op-ed: "Why we need an idling law"
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2010 LEGISLATIVE SESSION--VEHICLE IDLING LEGISLATION
H.97--an act relating to the idling of motor vehicles (10,000 plus pounds; medium- and heavy-duty commercial; mostly diesel), introduced by sponsor Rep. David Sharpe (see 2009 Legislative session notes), is a biennium bill and therefore carries over into the 2010 session. March 10, 2010: H.97 failed to make crossover.
H.97 STATUS (also check latest status at the State of Vermont Legislature website):
January 13: Reintroduced in House Natural Resources and Energy
January 19: TESTIMONY:
• Helena Gardner, Legislative Counsel, Legislative Council
• Edward Miller, Attorney, Vermont Truck and Bus Association
• Roland Bellavance, President, Vermont Truck and Bus Association
January 20: TESTIMONY:
• Rebecca Ryan, Director, Health Promotion and Public Policy, American Lung Association of Vermont--TESTIMONY
• Kent Boorae, Board Member, American Lung Association of Vermont
• Johanna Miller, Outreach Director and Energy Program Co-Director, Vermont Natural Resources Council--TESTIMONY
• Jim Flint, Executive Director, Friends of Burlington Gardens--TESTIMONY
• Brian Keefe, Vice President, Central Vermont Public Service
January 21: TESTIMONY:
• Joe Choquette, Lobbyist, Vermont Petroleum Association
• Joe Choquette, Lobbyist, International Business Machines
• Matt Cota, Lobbyist, Vt Fuel Dealers Association
• Ed Larson, Vermont Forest Products Association
• Jamie Feehan, Lobbyist, Vermont Public Transportation Association
• William Driscoll, Vice President, Associated Industries of Vermont
• Andrew MacLean, Lobbyist, Cabot Creamery
January 22: TESTIMONY:
• Wayne Michaud, Director, Idle-Free VT--TESTIMONY
• Don Ostler, Delivery Operations Manager, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters--TESTIMONY
• Melissa Marotta, Second year medical student, University of Vermont College of Medicine
• Brett Porter, Second year medical student, University of Vermont College of Medicine
January 26: Committe Discussion and Bill Vote in House Natural Resources and Energy committee
• H.97 passes out of committee: Vote 11-0. Bill as passed.
February 2: on motion of Rep. Margaret Cheney of Norwich, the bill was committed to the committee on Transportation. Bill as committed to House Transportation.
February 5: Vermont Journal of Environmental Law publishes article: Vermont Considers Anti-Idling Law on Large Vehicles
March 10: H.97 was not taken up by the Transporation committee. As a result, the bill will not make crossover and remains on the wall. Essentially H.97 is dead, havng run its biennium course. New legislation restricting the idling of motor vehicles will have to be submitted in the 2011 session.
However, all is not lost on successfully reducing vehicle idling in Vermont. Education remains the key to change. Several Vermont organizations are actively campaigning to reduce idling, including the American Lung Association Vermont Idle-Free Fleets program which speficially addresses diesel truck idling.
Idle-Free VT advocates an all motor vehicle idling restriction law
While Idle-Free VT advocates an all motor-vehicle idling reduction law or regulation for Vermont (as five states in the U.S. have: Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia), that advocacy is tempered by the political reality in Vermont that such a law likely would not have popular support for the near future. Moving incrementally to enact a truck idling law first would target the most toxic form of exhaust emissions as most truck engines are diesel. This law would set forth a model for a greater awareness and acceptance of idling reduction that can lead to the final step of an all motor vehicle idling law.
BASIC LANGUAGE OF AN ALL MOTOR VEHICLE LAW
No person shall allow in the State of Vermont any motor vehicle that is designed to operate on public roads to idle in excess of three (3) consecutive minutes in any 60 minute period for gasoline-powered vehicles; five (5) consecutive minutes in any 60 minute period for diesel-powered vehicles, with the following exceptions:
(1) The vehicle is forced to remain motionless on a public road because of traffic conditions over which the operator has no control;
(2) The vehicle is being used as an emergency vehicle in an emergency situation;
(3) Required by a federal, state, or local law or official, but only to the extent necessary to comply with such requirement;
(4) The vehicle’s engine is providing auxiliary power for activities other than heating or air conditioning, such as loading, refrigeration, well drilling, or farming;
(5) Running the vehicle’s engine is necessary for maintenance, servicing, repair, or diagnostic purposes;
(6) Running the vehicle’s engine during adverse weather conditions is necessary to ensure the safe operation of the vehicle
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FOR IDLING REDUCTION LAWS, SEE THE IDLING LAWS page
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