Post-Intelligencer. The Washington state House passed a bill adopting California’s emission standards for light- and medium-duty passenger vehicles. The House bill now heads to the Senate.

The Federal Clean Air Act allows states to either adopt federal standards or California’s more stringent policy. So far, eight other states have adopted the California version. Washington would be the ninth.

The Washington bill, HB 1397, adopts the standards of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations that are effective as of January 1, 2005. This would put Washington in the LEV-II/PZEV/ZEV camp.

It does not mean that Washington is also automatically implementing the provisions of California’s climate change bill (the Pavley Bill, AB 1493, earlier post). The provisions of that new law, which are currently being challenged in federal court by the automakers,  mandate a significant reduction of CO₂ emissions from new vehicles.

Last fall, the Board of the California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted a resolution stipulating that the regulations to control greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, pursuant to AB 1493, may not take effect before January 1, 2006.

Even assuming that California wins in court, the CO₂ regulations are not part of what Washington is implementing.

If Oregon adopts the California emissions standards for application to model year 2009 vehicles, the new Washington rules would also begin with 2009 model year vehicles. Otherwise, the application of the rules will begin with model year 2010 vehicles and phase in through 2016.