Gov. Jerry Brown signs ‘transportation justice’ bills
BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: Is legislation needed to bring transportation into the future?
By Katy Grimes | WatchdogWire.com
On the eve of the United Nations climate summit this week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed six bills to make California the biggest electric vehicle market in the nation.
Brown’s goal is to have 1.5 million zero-emission cars on the road by 2025.
The new laws expand the number of clean-air vehicles with access to carpool and toll lanes from 55,000 to 70,000, regardless of how many occupants ride in the vehicles.
However, what Brown did not focus on are the electric-car subsidies being extended to low-income residents, under the administration of the Air Resources Board. Critics of the increasingly subsidized green political movement say this is simply more taxpayer funded welfare.
According to the Green Auto Blog, those considered “low-income” residents can get a minimum of $2,500 for cashing in a clunker for a zero-emission vehicle. “If, on the other hand, you’re a low-income resident getting rid of a car to shift to the car-free/carsharing lifestyle, then you will get a minimum of $1,500. All others get, at most, $1,000.”
