Some how in the attempt to forward that email, the text got screwed up.
So here is the text version:
I thought you might be interested in this bill. It could be very dangerious
for all of us in VA!
Here are the Senators and their email addresses:
"Senator Martin E. Williams" <district01@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator R. Edward Houck" <district17@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Yvonne B. Miller" <district05@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Walter A. Stosch" <district12@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Malfourd W. Trumbo" <district22@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Henry L. Marsh III" <district16@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Stephen D. Newman" <district23@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator John C. Watkins" <district10@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator W. Henry Maxwell" <district02@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Phillip P. Puckett" <district38@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator William C. Mims" <district33@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Nick Rerras" <district06@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Frank W. Wagner" <district07@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator Harry B. Blevins" <district14@sov.state.va.us>
"Senator R. Creigh Deeds" <district25@sov.state.va.us>
Below there is a letter that you can send to them requesting that they
vote NO on this bill!
John
------------
Everyone on my list is getting this E-mail. Even if you think this doesn't
apply to you, if you drive a car it does. And once one state passes these
stupid laws, others will follow.
The state of VA is about to pass a new law that really sucks! House Bill
570. It passed the House 92 to 6 and is now in the Senate. This bill has
three key points:
1) It requires the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality(VDEQ)
to do remote testing of vehicles for emissions (i.e. set up check points)
and fine owners of vehicles that don't pass testing.
2) The law requires that VDEQ establish a program for funding the
repairs of vehicles that do not pass testing if the owner is financially
unable (i.e. vehicle welfare program).
3) The law authorizes the Department of Motor vehicles to release
vehicle owner data to the VDEQ for enforcement action. (This means the VDEQ
can come to your house to test, or even worse, levy fines against your
property)
Can this be true? Well last week the house approved the bill by an
overwhelming 92 to 6! If you don't believe me. Go to
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=021&typ=bil&val=hb570 and
read the law summary. A copy is at the end of my e-mail.
The worse part about this is the VDEQ is a self regulating organization.
They make and enforce their own rules. Once empowered to conduct remote
vehicle emissions testing, what do you think will happen when they need
money to fix poor peoples cars? They lower the standards so more cars fail
and more money can be generated via fines. VDEQ official term is notice of
violation (NOV). Think about this. If a cop pulls you over to give you a
ticket for a violation, the violation is for braking a law made by our
state or federal legislature. He only enforces the law and can not
determine the amount of the fine or penalty (that must be done by the Judge
in our judicial branch of government). Well, not with the EPA (or in this
case VDEQ). There are no checks and balances built in there. The only way
to fight them is to file suit against them. Now who can afford that?
The really stupid part about this law is that the VDEQ just put in a
request to the federal EPA requesting the state of VA be exempt from
vehicle emissions testing. We don't need it to meet air quality standards
and they don't want to deal with regulating. Think about it. With better,
more environmentally safe cars being built every year, it makes no sense to
have programs like this because the continued improvements made by Detroit
will steadily fix this problem. Testing vehicle emissions in order to make
them perform better than what they were designed for is working on the
wrong end of the air pollution problem. It wouldn't surprise me if the
tree huggers are pushing the state legislature to enact this bill just to
force the VDEQ into vehicle emissions testing.
This Bill is now being reviewed by the Senate Transportation Committee.
They will vote on whether to send this bill to the Senate floor at the end
of this week. If the committee votes no, then it is done. If they vote
yes, we are in big trouble. The Senate will typically follow the
recommendations of the committee. We need to act fast. Listed below are
the E-mail addresses to the members of the committee. I recommend sending
them an E-mail NOW. I have even typed up a suggestion you can block and
paste. Remember to add your name and address so they know you are a real
person. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, in the subject area type : VOTE AGAINST HB
570. That way they will get the idea even if they don't read the whole
e-mail. :-)
Dear Senator,
I am writing to express my concern with house bill 570 and request you
vote against it. Everyone I have talked to is against this bill. This bill
allows the Virginia Department of Environmental (VDEQ) quality to make
regulations and enforce fines directly on the citizens of the State for
private property violations we may not be aware of. The checks and balances
set up by the legislative and judicial branches of our government protect
citizens and our private property from unfair acts of law enforcement. This
bill gives the VDEQ too much power over citizens of the Commonwealth with
no means for checks and balances.
I am also concerned that this bill provides state funding for the vehicle
repairs of poor people. Is the state going to pay for $2000 worth of
repairs to a $600 vehicle? I don't want to pay for repairs to derelict
vehicles that should not be on the road in the first place. I don't
understand why we are starting a program like this when the state is having
financial difficulties. Why do we even care? With newer, environmentally
friendly vehicles every year, the number of vehicles that pollute becomes
less significant each year. I don't believe there are enough poorly
maintained vehicles on the road to make a measurable difference in our air
quality. I believe we can find better ways of investing our money to
improve air quality. I have looked for impact studies from the VDEQ and
have been unable to find any on their website. I believe the VDEQ recently
requested an exemption from vehicle testing from the EPA. If so, why do we
need this program?
Lastly, I am against the department of Motor Vehicles releasing my
personal information to the VDEQ for enforcement purposes. I believe this
is a violation of the privacy act. The VDEQ should have to go though the
judicial branch of our government just like any other agency. Law
enforcement of our citizens should be left to our law enforcement officers.
Thank you for reading my E-mail. I strongly encourage you to vote against
this bill.
Sincerely,
Your Name here
Your Address
Here is a list of Senators on the transportation committee. We need to
contact them as soon as possible as they are currently reviewing the bill.
Membership: Williams (Chairman), Houck, Miller, Y.B., Stosch, Trumbo,
Marsh, Newman, Watkins, Maxwell, Puckett, Mims, Rerras, Wagner,
Blevins, Deeds . (If the links don't show up because you receive you
E-mail in text only, they can be obtained at this website:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?021+com+S11 )
Here is the bill Summary:
HB 570 Records of DMV.
Patron - Joe T. May (all patrons) ..... notes
----------
Summary as passed House: (all summaries)
Records of the Department of Motor Vehicles. On-road testing of motor
vehicle emissions by Department of Environmental Quality; subsidies to
owners of certain motor vehicles found not in compliance with motor vehicle
emissions requirements. Authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to
release vehicle owner data to the Department of Environmental Quality in
connection with enforcement actions involving on-road testing of motor
vehicles.
The bill also requires the State Air Pollution Control Board to establish
separate and distinct emissions standards applicable to on-road testing of
motor vehicles, with such criteria being applicable to all motor vehicles
manufactured for a model year 25 years prior to January 1 of the present
calendar year or any more recent model year and criteria for each model
year being appropriate to that model year. Further provision is made for
the expedited identification of "gross violators" of motor vehicle
emissions inspection standards.
The bill reduces from 90 days to 30 calendar days the time given to owners
of vehicles found by on-road testing to be not in compliance with emissions
standards to either show that the vehicles have passed a subsequent
emissions inspection, qualify for waivers, or have been given waivers.
The bill also makes the Department of Environmental Quality responsible for
the establishment and operation of a program to subsidize repairs of
vehicles that fail to meet emissions standards, when the owner of the
vehicle is financially unable to have the vehicle repaired. The costs of
implementing and operating this program are to be borne by the Vehicle
Emissions Inspection Program Fund.
Best Regards,
Bill Laurent
Tidewater Mopar Club President
www.tidewatermoparclub.com
-60 Imperial Conv 413
-65 Imperial Custom V-10
-68 Road Runner 383
-68 Fury III Conv 318
-68 Fury III Fstbk 383
-68 300 Conv 440
-69 Charger 383
-70 Charger 500 (Daytona Replica) 318
-87 D150 - 360
------
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire 71 Saab Sonett III
65 Rambler Classic
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Bricklin: www.bricklin.org
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