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I have a company that employs 84 people and have been in business
for 37 years.  My fleet operates in Southern California only.  I
built my terminal 2 1/2 years ago and have made it "green" in order
to be responsible to the health welfare of my employees as well as
the public.

Because of the economy, I have 12 trucks parked out of a fleet of
50.  I bought 3 new trucks at the begininning of the year and now,
my bank will not lend any more money to purchase any other
equipment because freight is not moving during this recession.

Trucks from out of state will not be impacted as the California
trucks and buses.  How does the ARB ensure that all vehicles will
be compliant so we may have a level playing field?  How will the
ARB enforce compliance?  We cannot comply if we don't get loans
that will even match grand funds.  We cannot buy new equipment or
retrofit the old if our shippers aren't moving product.

All I ask that the board considers the sign of the times.  We
cannot comply during a recession.  It's as simple as that.  When
freight is moving, you'll see responsible owners move to get new
trucks and retrofit the old.  There has already been over 3,000
bankrupt mid to large trucking companies go under already this
year.  The larger carriers are selling off hundreds of terminals
and laying off thousands of workers because they are all losing
money.  The smaller carriers and owner operators have closed their
doors or had their trucks repossessed. 

Truckers purchase vehicles from the manufacturers set by the
guidelines of the US Government. Now, you want us to shoulder the
burden of extra equipment after the fact.  Would the general public
be willing to do the same with their cars and pickups?

We maintain our fleet with six mechanics in order to maintain
safety.  Our trucks have annual smoke tests every year; more often
than the public has their vehicles smog-tested.  We all want
cleaner air but the ARB needs to delay their decision until we get
out of this recession!