Coalition Will Keep Fighting for Colorado Motorists

Freedom to Drive Coalition Executive Director Kelly Sloan had the following to say in response to news reports of a "deal" being struck between Colorado and certain automakers regarding California zero emissions vehicle rules.

"The proposal for an 'alternate approach' that was struck between auto manufacturers and the state of Colorado does not change the negative economic impacts that the ZEV rule will impose on Colorado consumers. That means it does not materially change the position of the Freedom to Drive Coalition. It is simply an acknowledgment that the automobile manufacturers cannot meet the unrealistic mandate in Colorado without employing a little slight-of-hand. While the “alternate approach” may theoretically save the big auto manufacturers millions of dollars through the allowance of proportional credits or an early credit banking -- compared to the tens of millions more the auto manufacturers would have spent trying to meet the original proposal -- the huge costs of adopting a California ZEV regulation in Colorado still will fall directly on the backs of all Coloradans. Furthermore, we believe the “alternative approach” will also put Colorado in violation of the federal Clean Air Act, because the Act clearly specifies that any state that wishes to adopt the California standards can only do so if those standards are identical to California's. This provision would be a fundamental deviation from the California waiver. .

Part of our position all along has been that tying ourselves completely and unconditionally to California's vehicle standards is unacceptable and unworkable for our state. Colorado consumers should be the ones driving the embrace of new vehicle technologies, not unelected bureaucrats in California."