Typically, the Legislature has made it harder by tying in other stuff. Oddly enough, the bill on inspections also deals with local regulation of blasting at rock mines. Bush cannot keep inspections in Pinellas and Hillsborough and end them in the other four counties. He cannot rewrite the act of the Legislature, only veto it or let it become law. Morroni and others who voted to kill inspections say that overall pollution will still decrease, because of a settlement struck between the feds and Tampa Electric Co., one of the biggest polluters.
Every little bit helps.
More than 27,000 high-polluting cars were removed from Florida's highways last year. Tons of pollutants are not getting spewed forth each day. The inspection requirement already has been reduced to every other year, and not at all during the first three years of a new car's life. If, after all that, we still are too sorry to spend a few minutes and a few bucks every two years for better air, then we deserve to choke. All rights reserved.