Louisville Metro Council seeks cure for idleness

Those beloved zanies over at Louisville's Metro Council are at it again. Concerned that there may be a shortage of restrictions on the freedoms of Derby City's citizens, the council is studying ways to come up with an 'anti-idling rule.' No, this has nothing to do with the plethora of do-nothing bureaucrats out at the JCPS VanHoose Education Center; the Metro councilors are worried that too many of us leave our motors running, while we're not moving. (Sounds like Bardstown Road on a Saturday night.)

The professional scolds over at Louisville's Metro Air Pollution Control District (LMAPCD) have written a proposed ordinance that would place restrictions on idling cars and other kinds of machinery in Jefferson County. Mayor Abramson supports the idea, and is looking for a Metro Council member or two to introduce the measure.

Several council members of the council's Health and Human Needs Committee told Courier-Journal reporter Dan Klepal they think the idea of reducing unnecessary vehicle idling is great, but they aren't sure the ordinance could be enforced. Committee Chairwoman Mary Woolridge, D-3rd District, said the ordinance should be sent to the city's health department for public hearings before any action is taken.Lauren Anderson, executive director of LMAPCD, has indicated to the Metro Council that the proposed ordinance is necessary, because Metro Louisville is out of compliance with federal clean-air standards, and that if the ordinance is not passed, LMAPCD will try to get the ever-unpopular vehicle emission testing (VET) reinstated.

The proposed ordinance would outlaw allowing a vehicle to sit idling, while not moving, but would allow for a number of exceptions. Drivers actually stopped in traffic, or waiting for a signal to change, would not be covered. Similarly, drivers would be allowed to wait in a drive-through lane for their Big Macs to be delivered. We'd probably need to exempt TARC busses, cop cars, fire engines, ambulances, taxicabs, garbage trucks, and weed-whackers too. But look for the Good Humor man to fade from the scene.

Folks would be allowed to keep their motors running while 'responding to emergency situations' (not defined, but presumably including childbirth and inspecting the carcass of the critter you just ran over, to see what's for dinner this evening), or when 'loading or unloading passengers.' This last exemption specifically does not include waiting in line to pick up your kids from school. If your tykes dally, you'll just have to freeze/roast, depending upon the Louisville weather (it's sometimes freeze/roast in the same day).

Conviction of violating the proposed ordinance would require a $100 fine for the first offense, $250 for a second offense within two years, and then $500 for each subsequent offense. Depressed persons opting to commit suicide in their garages would certainly have to think twice before incurring such a financial burden.The proposed law would allow people to let their cars idle to defrost windshields or for other 'safety' reasons. Here's the kicker: it would be left to the discretion of the police officer as to whether it was reasonable for them to idle their cars for heat. Get that? The silly law would leave it up to the cop to decide whether or not you were in violation of the law.

Any freshman law student will tell you that any law that vests such discretion within the caprice of law enforcement officers is clearly unconstitutional on its face. Why not just pass a law making it a crime to drive too fast? No speed limits; just leave it up to the cop to decide whether or not you were driving at excessive speed.

Of course, the 'scientists' over at LMAPCD can't be expected to be aware of all the vagaries of constitutional law. After all, they're air pollution experts, right? Ms. Lauren Anderson, executive director of LMAPCD is, er, a lawyer. Graduated from U of L's law school in 1988, after which she worked for a time at the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Legislative Research Commission. Probably read up on science in her spare time.Ms. Anderson told Klepal that she hopes the council will pass an idling ordinance 'within six months.' She said it would be a problem for the agency to wait a year before passing the law. 'EPA has this plan, it's what we told them we would do,' she said. 'If we don't do this, we'll have to do something else. I don't want to wait a year to get something on the books.'

While it would certainly be a shame to submit Ms. Anderson, J.D., to the obvious stress involved in waiting to see if the elected representatives of the people live up to the promises she made to the EPA, her threat to bring back the VET exhaust testing program is a pretty transparent bluff. Thanks to Louisville's Dan Seum and the Republicans in the Kentucky legislature, a stake was driven into the heart of that beast several years ago. There are two chances that it will ever be resurrected: slim and none.

Our Metro Council would do well to continue ignoring the loonies at the EPA ('Carbon dioxide is a pollutant') and their surrogates over at LMAPCD. It's O.K. for Mayor Jerry to drink the enviro-whacko Kool Aid (He signed the US Conference of Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, promising to reduce the Louisville's greenhouse gas emissions by 7% below 1990 levels by 2012: Not. Going. To. Happen.), but the council should avoid following these lemmings over the cliff.