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Rural utilities push for exemption for service vehicles; Ecology urges rulemaking instead of statute
Summary
Supporters of SB 6056 said exempting utility service vehicles from some emission standards is necessary to ensure reliable outage response in remote areas; Department of Ecology and environmental groups preferred agency rulemaking and narrower statutory language.
Senator Behnke introduced Senate Bill 6056 as a measure to exempt certain utility service vehicles from California‑derived motor vehicle emission standards adopted in Washington, arguing the exemption would help utilities reach remote outages quickly and maintain public safety during floods and storms.
Staff described the bill as directing Ecology to amend its rules to exempt utility service vehicles, referencing a federal definition that would encompass commercial vehicles used to repair or operate public‑utility infrastructure. Ecology staff noted they are already rulemaking a targeted exemption for…
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