Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) President Dennis Slater says that, although the extension was necessary, it hasn’t solved what the nation needs in the long term. “America’s urgent need to rebuild roads, highways, and bridges requires a long-term strategy; we can’t afford any more delays,” Slater says. “If the President wants manufacturers to put people to work and jumpstart the economy, he will insist on a six-year highway bill to build safer roads and bridges, and work with the Congress to find a way to get it done.”

Transportation Extension Timeline:

2/11/2011 Introduced in House.

2/28/2011 Reported by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. H. Rept. 112-18, Part I.

2/28/2011 Committee on Ways and Means discharged.

2/28/2011 Committee on Natural Resources discharged.

2/28/2011 Committee on the budget discharged.

3/2/2011 Passed/agreed to in House: Passed by recorded vote: 421 – 4 (Roll no. 160).

3/3/2011 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by voice vote.

3/3/2011 Presented to President.

3/4/2011 Signed by President.

3/4/2011 Became Public Law No: 112-005.

California Dump Truck Association Sues CARB

The California Dump Truck Owners Association (CDTOA) filed suit against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to challenge the legality of the agency’s Truck and Bus Regulation.

The lawsuit, California Dump Truck Owners Association v. Air Resources Board (Case 2:11-cv-00384-MCE -GGH), was filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, on Feb. 11.

In the lawsuit, CDTOA asserts that CARB’s regulation is unconstitutional as it is preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act and seeks an injunction prohibiting CARB from enforcing its rule.

In a written statement about the lawsuit, CDTOA notes that it has “attempted to work with CARB for more than four years to find reasonable solutions that accomplish the goal of cleaning California’s air while avoiding the needless devastation of the state’s trucking industry and, specifically, the dump truck industry.”

The association says that the dump truck industry is struggling to survive due to a depressed regional economy, a construction industry suffering through 50-percent unemployment, and rampant construction price deflation as contractors fight for what little work is available.

“Our members are experiencing the worst economic conditions in living memory, and CARB continues to place impossible regulatory burdens on them at a time they can least afford it,” says Lee Brown, executive director of CDTOA, in a written statement. “Our members support clean air, but the air we breathe can’t be more important than the people that are breathing it.”

CARB’s Truck and Bus Regulation essentially requires all heavy-duty diesel vehicles currently on California’s roads to be replaced with new CARB-compliant vehicles. The association says its members base their businesses on the ability to use their trucks for at least 800,000 miles, with an average of 50,000 miles per year. CDTOA says the majority of its members will be unable to comply with the new regulations and will be forced to close their businesses.

Rob McClernon, CDTOA president and small business owner, noted that, “Food on the table, a roof over your head, and healthcare for your family are just as important, if not more, than nominally cleaner air. From what I can tell, joblessness is far more unhealthy than the air we breathe anywhere in this state today.”