In a major milestone for mariner safety in California, the California Senate Transportation Committee has voted 14-0 in favor of a measure that would prevent the California Air Resources Board (CARB) from enforcing a potentially deadly requirement in its harbor craft regulations. That requirement would force operators to install unproven and uncertified diesel particulate filters (DPF), widely seen as a fire hazard. The U.S. Coast Guard has already said that it won’t enforce the CARB DPF requirement.
The measure, AB 1122, was authored by Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains, MD.