Gov. Perry Vetoes Child Diesel Fume-Breathing Bill

IDLING BUS DIESEL ENGINE AT SCHOOL OR SCHOOL EVENT PROHIBITED.
(a) In this section, "idling" means allowing an engine to run while the motor vehicle is not engaged in forward or reverse motion.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the driver of a school bus equipped with a diesel engine may not allow the idling of the bus engine while the bus is parked at a school or school event.
(c) Subsection (b) does not prohibit the idling of a school bus diesel engine:
(1) for the minimum time necessary to heat or cool the bus before departure, provided that
the engine is turned off when a student is embarking or disembarking; or
(2) as necessary to accommodate the physical needs of a student who receives special education services, regardless of whether students are embarking or disembarking.

What could possibly be wrong with this legislation, you ask? Why would our Governor veto this bill and refuse to make it law? Is he just, like, an asshole? The official response from Perry's office is that the Governor would prefer not to make this is a statewide requirement. Instead, according to his aides, Perry would rather let local authorities decide this on their own.

Hmm. Well, this is almost convincing, Mr. 39%. But it looks like you've taken a lesson straight out of the Neoconservative Handbook and decided to use a widely-accepted political concept to explain what was, in reality, just a plain old poorly-made decision (e.g., Pres. Bush explaining the invasion of Iraq with concepts like "spreading democracy" and "freedom"). While we certainly like the idea of "local control" on certain issues, this hardly seems like the appropriate time to invoke the "local government is good government" ethos. What we're talking about here is a wasteful behavior (idling school buses needlessly) that spends our tax dollars, pollutes our air and hurts our children. The end. This is completely unacceptable, and any local authority that a town or city might have to continue this waste should be revoked by the state in the interest of all Texans. We repeat: This is not an issue that should be left up to local control, because wasting tax dollars, polluting the air senselessly and, most importantly, creating a health risk for children are not viable options that should be considered.

HB 3457 created a unique circumstance in which establishing a statewide requirement would in fact yield many benefits. By signing HB 3457, Governor Perry could've saved our public schools money (fewer taxpayer dollars spent on diesel fuel), helped reduce diesel emissions just a bit and removed a health risk to our kids. When do you ever get the chance to accomplish all of these things with one law? Rarely. It seems clear to us that the Governor has once again squandered an opportunity to show us real, meaningful leadership on an issue that's important to lots of folks. In other words, this is just another "Perryism."

We wonder (Austinist rubs chin, goes "hmm"): Perhaps Mr. Perry has "friends" (read: political donors) in the oil business, friends who'd prefer to see school buses idling and burning more and more diesel? Or maybe it's even simpler than that. Maybe it's just because HB 3457 was authored by Democrats.

Image of Gov. Rick Perry courtesy of the Governor's website. Image of school bus courtesy of Wikipedia.