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SAN PEDRO -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster will announce a ban on trucks made before 1989 at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Wednesday.

The ban -- which is expected to affect about 2,000 trucks -- is part of the Clean Truck Program, which is intended to make a sizable dent in the pollution problem by 2012.

"Our Number 1 goal is to keep commerce flowing while we implement the Clean Truck Program and we are confident that we will meet this goal," said executive director of the Port of Los Angeles Geraldine Knatz.

A city ordinance signed earlier this year offers truck drivers $5,000 for turning in their pre-1989 trucks.

That same ordinance stipulates that trucking companies must hire drivers as employees, rather than keeping them as "independent contractors," by 2012. This change will force trucking companies to be accountable for maintaining cleaner burning trucks.

Officials with the Port of Los Angeles say the newer and "greener" trucks will decrease emissions by 80 percent over the next 5 years.

A $35 fee on cargo containers, approved by the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions last year, is expected to generate $1.6 billion to replace 16,800 trucks in the short-haul fleet.




Source: KTLA  

Coming from the People's Republic of Los Angeles, and its fearless leader Chariman Villaraigosa, these draconian measures are not surprising. I don't dispute that we should cut down on potential sources of pollution, but dictating whether or not drivers can be employees or contractors is a little overbearing, IMHO.  

Great for the environment but won't all these changes really kick trucking companies to the ground? Being forced to change their employees from 1099 to W2 would force them to pay more taxes as well...  

Since when does the socialist government out here care about businesses?