Taking The Hill
"We must seek, above all, a world of peace; a world in which peoples dwell together in mutual respect and work together in mutual regard." - John F. Kennedy
New air quality standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized regulations to impose stringent new air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter. Under the regulations, the level of the standard for ozone will be lowered from the present 0.12 parts per million to 0.08 parts per million. The particulate matter standard will target those particles that are less than 2.5 microns in diameter. The Clinton administration issued instructions to the EPA to soften the impact on big cities and industry with provisions that will delay the impact and give local officials flexibility in deciding how to comply. The EPA standards on particulate matter will be delayed five years to allow completion of a nationwide monitoring network. The regulations are slated to take effect Sept. 16, 1997.
OSHA program
The House Committee on Small Business held a hearing on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) plans to develop a Safety and Health Program Standard. The standard, now in the development stage, would likely include provisions encouraging top management leadership, worker participation, clear lines of responsibility, proactive hazard identification, prevention and control, and training. Some committee members expressed concern that under the new standard, employers would waste a lot of time and money trying to understand and implement its sweeping mandates, instead of focusing their resources on preventing known risks in their individual workplaces.
Vocational education
The House passed legislation to authorize $1.3 billion in funding for fiscal year 1998 to revamp secondary and post-secondary vocational and technical education programs. House members rejected an attempt to set aside spending for certain training programs designed specifically for women. The bill provides for a gradual shift from a funding formula based on the number of youths in a state to a formula weighted to give more money to states with higher youth poverty levels.
Salvage vehicle titling
The House Commerce Committee approved legislation to establish nationally uniform requirements regarding the titling and registration of salvage, nonrepairable and rebuilt motor vehicles. Under the bill, a salvage vehicle is defined as a late model that has been damaged, destroyed or wrecked up to 80 percent of its pre-accident value. The measure also expands the number of vehicles covered under the definition to those that are up to seven model years old at the time of the accident or have a retail value greater than $7,500. At the committee markup, language was added to the bill that would allow states to adopt its definitions on a voluntary basis. However, states that choose not to adopt the definitions would be denied access to the National Motor Vehicle Titling Information System. Anyone convicted of falsifying the title of a salvaged vehicle could receive criminal penalties of up to three years in prison and fines of up to $50,000.
Vehicle scrappage
ASA joined other aftermarket associations in urging Congress to continue the prohibition on the use of public funds for motor vehicle scrappage programs. Several bills pending before the federal legislature to reauthorize the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) would amend the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program to lift the prohibition. Under CMAQ, the Secretary of Transportation allocates funds each year to states containing ozone nonattainment areas. These states can use the funds for certain enumerated purposes affecting mobile source emissions. Currently, the law expressly prohibits states from using CMAQ funds for programs to buy and sell scrap motor vehicles.
House Commerce Committee Passes Uniform Titling Bill || Shepherds Of The Earth
|| How Clean Are Our Cars? || What Do Body Shops Think Of Diminished Value? || Building Referral Business || Guest Editorial: Revolution, Evolution, Devolution Or Chaos? || Tech Tips || Tech To Tech || News Briefs || Taking The Hill || Around ASA || Shop Profile || Net Worth || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLV No. 9, September 1997