Blagojevich Offers $500 to Clean Car Buyers
Gov. Blagojevich today announced a proposal to offer a $500 sales tax credit, effective July 1st, to Illinoisans who buy hybrid and other fuel-efficient cars. The proposal requires approval by the General Assembly.
The Governor is having quite a good environmental week. A week ago, he proposed strong rules to cut mercury pollution from coal plants. Earler this week, he issued an executive order aimed at stepping up research and planning efforts to better manage drinking water supplies across the state.
Today's proposal, if enacted, would save more drivers more money at the pump, and cut air pollution levels as cars that go farther on a gallon of gas also put less out the tailpipe. I don't know about you, but a $500 discount on a new car could be enough to make me choose a hybrid if I weren't otherwise inclined to do so.
A similar federal tax credit, one of the very few notable environmental policy improvements of the Bush Administration, expires at the end of this year, so the proposal comes at a good time.
The proposal is structured to offer the $500 incentive to any vehicle that gets 35 mpg CITY, or 25 mpg CITY that can run on an alternative fuel, such as 85% ethanol or biodiesel.
Good going, Guv. The policy makes sense, and I would think it stands a decent chance of winning legislative approval, given the broad demand for fuel-efficient cars and high gas prices.
Originally posted at Illinois Sierra Club
4 comments:
I'm glad to see you promoting the Illinois State Water Survey given their refutation of your earlier post on Mercury pollution!
About the tax cut, I just heard CLTV say Blagojvich said the tax cut would stimulate Illinois's economy. I thought that awfully Bush like of him to say.
So maybe there is less disagreement between Democrats and Republicans then there seems sometimes.
Our Surveys (Water, Natural History, Geological, and the Waste Management and Research Center) do a wonderful job of information policy debates with normally outstanding science.
We are looking at the mercury study you pointed out. It is highly provacative and inconsistent with nearly all the national science on this topic.
oh Jack, provacative... We are spending to much time on the net... when we find ISWS stuff provacative.
Have a good weekend.
Today's proposal, if enacted, would save more drivers more money at the pump, and cut air pollution levels as cars that go farther on a gallon of gas also put less out the tailpipe. I don't know about you, but a $500 discount on a new car could be enough to make me choose a hybrid if I weren't otherwise inclined to do so.
I'd love to burn cleaner fuel, reduce oil consumption, etc, but at this point in my career, i'm purley mercenary. I can't afford to use E-85 in my FFV, even with regular gas at $2.37.
If i was in the market for a new car, a hybrid would have to be cheaper over the 5-7 ownership period, all things considered. (fuel, maintenance, oil, payment)
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