Colorado Moves to Ban “Rolling Coal”

A new anti-rolling coal bill has passed both branches of the Colorado state legislature and is headed to the governor’s office to be signed off, according to a report from The Colorado Independent. If the bill goes through, Colorado will become the second state to ban rolling coal behind New Jersey.

The bill was introduced by Democratic Representative Joann Ginal of Fort Collins with support from Republican Senator Don Coram of Montrose. Ginal’s first two attempts to push for an anti-coal rolling bill were defeated in the Senate, one last year and the second earlier this year. If you’re not familiar with the term, rolling coal is when a diesel vehicle purposely spews unburnt, soot-rich exhaust.

With Coram’s help, the new bill was revised to remove language found in the previous bills regarding the driver’s intent “to harass or obscure the vision of cyclists, pedestrians, and other drivers.” Many Republican lawmakers argued that proving intent would be difficult. In order to roll coal, some of the vehicle’s smog equipment would have to have been illegally and intentionally modified, supporters argued. The revised bill now describes a “nuisance exhibition of motor vehicle exhaust” as “the act of knowingly blowing black smoke through one or more exhaust pipes attached to a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or less in a manner that obstructs or obscures the view of another driver, a bicyclist, or a pedestrian.”

The changes to the third bill gained support from previous opponent Sen. Ray Scott of Grand Junction of the Senate Transportation Committee. The bill moved on to clear the Senate with support from all 17 Democrats and five Republicans and a 40 to 25 vote in favor of the bill in the House.

If the governor signs off on the bill, rolling coal will become a class A traffic offense, and command a $100 fine.

What do you think of the proposed law? Should rolling coal be banned Nation-wide? Tell us in the comments below.

Source: Colorado State Legislature, The Colorado Independent

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