California's attorney general and a number of other states are suing the Bush Administration over fuel efficiency standards. A federal court in San Francisco is hearing the suit on Monday. From Sacramento, Marianne Russ reports.
California, eleven other states, and environmental groups sued last fall. The suit is in response to mileage standards for vehicles such as SUV's and minivans set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency ordered roughly a one-mile-per-gallon increase: from 22.2 miles per gallon to 23.5 miles per gallon by 2010.
Attorney General Jerry Brown calls that “dangerously misguided” and says it ignores the environment and the nation's dependence on foreign oil. The suit claims the new standards violate federal energy policy that requires conservation. Brown says tougher mileage standards should be required. Opponents have said that would hurt the auto industry.
In Sacramento, I'm Marianne Russ.
