Is a Relaxing of the Air Quality Rules Is on the Budget Table?

It looks like the Diesel Off-Road rule is "in play" with regards to settling the budget crisis. Philosophically I am not for using the budget process to amend laws. I think legislators should have to line up the votes and pass bills the traditional way. Some might call this "trickeration"

But I think this is one rule that could use some amending.

According to the SacBee,

Another change would relieve construction firms and other businesses from having to meet a 2007 retrofit requirement for diesel off-road vehicles. Mike Lewis, senior vice president for the Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition, said contractors already have reduced emissions below targeted levels because the economic slowdown has reduced activity and firms have begun complying with new rules.

Under the air-board requirement, he said businesses would have to pay $1 billion to retrofit 35,000 particulate traps by next year: "The industry simply doesn't have a billion to do that."

Well we will just see how this turns out.