California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

It has been an eventful month at CDTOA on a number of fronts. We have met the challenge of CARB’s enviro-Jihad and will consider the latest on- and off-road rule regulatory time line push back proposed by CARB staff as a ‘Big W.’ CARB has backed up a little on its preconceived destiny and mission to kill what was left of everything in this state that runs on efficient diesel engines, including the California dump truck economy.

Betty Plowman, CDTOA’s resident PhD critic of CARB’s junk

science and propaganda, was loosened from her seat by CARB’s announcement at a meeting in Sacramento earlier this month to delay some aspects of the on-road rule for diesel trucks until 2015.

Even the off-road rule was delayed an additional two years. And in late breaking news, AGC America, the national contractor’s organization, made a separate last-minute deal and got an additional two years for the off-road equipment owners, extending the delay until 2014. This is all a great win for us, but we cannot give up now.

We need to put the wooden stake through the heart of Mrs. Nichols and her group of blood-money-sucking, business-hating henchmen(and women).

And make no mistake, this is all far from being over, especially the official outing of all the junk science, premature death propaganda, and systemic academic activism that has been behind the tricking of hundreds (maybe even thousands) of truck owners into buying a bunch of new trucks (and useless retrofit devices)—in this economy. Not to mention the fact that they have screwed most of us indirectly through all these proposed regulations, which have reduced the value of our diesel-powered trucks and equipment to virtually nothing.

So I—no, we—have a way to really drop a daisy-cutter on these zealots. Yes, by voting and making sure your colleagues, family members, and friends vote. And remember to vote YES on Prop 23, for your own sake. We have also included information on both election candidates and propositions, in both English and Spanish, in this issue. See pages 8-11 of CTN 2010 October issue .

My second great source of excitement was hearing that CERT’s bill to make CARB enforcement a little more transparent, Senator Bob Dutton’s SB 1402, was signed by the Governor on September 28. See story above.

I believe that, for the first time since I’ve heard the name CARB, they are on their heels, and we need to keep pushing them back all the time. We are picking up allies every day, and friends of CDTOA like Professors Enstrom and Young will very soon be vindicated for their high level of integrity concerning CARB and their friends’ junk science. They and others like them have stood out as only a handful of scientists demanding that CARB account for distortions and plain lying concerning public health science claims. They have also been instrumental in helping to identifying phony scientists at CARB.

There is no doubt in my mind that these enviro-Jihadists at CARB need to be sent to the nether-world for what they have perpetrated on our members and this state’s economy. I say KILL CARB again and again. There is no reason for their existence here in California any longer; the air is clean. Let’s save $700 million dollars a year from the budget, and let’s put Mary Nichols where she belongs…in line for a place in history as a famous—oh, I mean infamous—socialist bureaucrat using her social science power to oppress and lie to the people of California. Talk about someone who needs to be disbarred and booted from the UC school system. And finally, saving the best for last, it is my joy to share with you that CDTOA has, with the help of AB 145, passed a construction

trucking broker bill. The governor finally signed the bill on September 29. This legislation should help stop underfunded and questionable individuals (cell phone brokers and others) from fleecing at least our members—the rest will be on their own!

Through our efforts, members will now have access to a plain letter law to economically prosecute bad broker-type characters who continue to not pay subhaulers for the work they performed.

Many thanks go to CDTOA Transportation Affairs Advisor, Fred ReCupido, along with our lobbyist and counsel, Brooks Ellison and his great crew, Pat Whalen and Kirk Blackburn. We want to also thank the bill author, assembly member De Leon, for getting this two-year bill through the legislative process with 100% bipartisan support.

Your association has listened to the needs of the members, needs many of you have expressed as important in this industry, especially in this business environment. Hopefully our members will use this legislation to make sound business decisions beginning January 1 of next year.

Plenty of work still needs to be done to make sure this all works, including drafting the bonding applications and making sure bonding markets are available and, of course, competitive. We need to make sure this all works as efficiently as we planned. Lee Brown and the staff have been very busy working with our endorsed insurance agent, Armstrong & Associates, and Dan Bertrand to get this all in place. We are working with both the Surety Associations and larger bonding companies. Remember, there will be no governmental oversight of this bonding scheme. It will all be up to the brokers, carriers, and the bonding companies, at least for now, to make sure it all works. I’m inviting all members to attend the Annual Membership & Board Meeting November 13, at the La Quinta Resort & Club in City of La Quinta. Come and be part of the Association that has done so much for all of us. Remember, strength in numbers, KILL CARB, and Yes on Prop 23!