Half the state Assembly turns to hybrid vehicles
By: Associated Press - | ∞
SACRAMENTO -- Nearly half the state Assembly is switching to hybrids as their choice for state-leased vehicles, a marked change from the gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and luxury sedans that have long been favored by lawmakers.
Thirty-nine of the 80 Assemblymembers now are driving hybrids, up from 27 last year. Of the 40 senators, 13 opted for hybrids, three more than last year.
State lawmakers choose their official vehicles, which are subsidized by taxpayers.
Legislators had been criticized for voting for clean air and greenhouse gas laws while driving higher polluting vehicles.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, for instance, was driving a 2003 Ford Explorer last year as he pushed passage of AB32, the landmark law to fight global warming. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has two Hummers converted to use alternative fuels, is seeking to tighten tailpipe emissions again this year.
"I do believe in the notion that you have to practice what you preach. In my case, the alternative is here," said Nunez, who now squires a new Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
Being green isn't cheap, however. The Assembly doubled the extra allowance for hybrids to $6,000 to offset the higher price of those vehicles, which Nunez suspects encouraged more lawmakers to make the switch.
Across the Rotunda, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, has yet to be converted. His chamber offers no incentive for leasing hybrids, and Perata drives a maroon Dodge Charger.
"It's good to see that our legislators are walking the walk more than they had in the past when it comes to choosing their state vehicles," said Sierra Club lobbyist Bill Magavern.
However, some hybrids use as much or more gas as a standard vehicle.
For instance, the all-wheel-drive 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid assigned to freshman Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, gets about 18 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway.
"I don't fit into a small car -- it's just not comfortable," said Adams, who weighs about 300 pounds. "Besides, in my district, I have mountain communities, desert communities and suburban communities, and a truck fits my needs better in reaching my constituents."
The Highlander favored by Nunez and others gets about 32 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, compared to the Toyota Prius' 60 mpg in the city and 51 mpg on the highway.
Just 17 of the 52 hybrids driven by state lawmakers fall into the most fuel-efficient category commanded by the Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and the discontinued Honda Insight hybrid.
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Junie wrote on Jan 20, 2007 11:45 PM:The headline doesn't really tell the story does it? And sticking it to Perata while praising Nunez is not just a cheap trick - it's deceptive. Besides the fact the Assembly's choice of "hybrids" (insert laughter here) aren't fuel efficient compared to most cars, there's the VERY overlooked fact that WE ARE PAYING FOR THEM. Real easy to be "green" when you stiff the voters for the cost. I don't own a Prius for just that reason: cost. But I drive a Honda Civic AND I actually get out and walk whereever I can. As for the 300 lb Assemblyman, lose weight, pal. In addition to using your weight as a lame excuse for a bigger vehicle, your extra weight means you get poor gas mileage no matter WHAT you drive (and unless he's 7 ft tall, 300 lbs is considered medically obese). Once again, Nunez hoodwinks the media and his group of stooges otherwise known as The Assembly. Nunez did NOT however fool the thinking public. He never does.
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