By Scott Lambert, Guest Column

Remember at the start of the legislative session when leaders from both parties announced that the 2008 session was going to be all about the economy and jobs? That lasted all of five minutes.

And while there&8217;s much this session to point at, transferring our government to Sacramento is what should have Minnesotans most concerned.

We&8217;re speaking of the proposal to impose California emissions Standards on Minnesotans. If Minnesota was to embrace this radically new regulatory scheme, it would be felt by every Minnesotan who needs or relies on a truck for their job or family.

And they would be powerless to do anything about it.

There are only two air quality standards available to Americans: the EPA standards that we all default into, or the California standards, which were designed in the 1970s to deal with California&8217;s smog problems. Eleven other states with similar serious smog issues have adopted these standards.

Of course, no Midwestern state, including Minnesota, has these air quality issues. But that doesn&8217;t slow down environmental groups.

They yearn for the California law and ache for its complexities to be foisted on Minnesotans.

The California law is big. Its regulations are contained in over 1,800 documents. It is governed by an 11-member panel known as the California Air Resources Board, appointed by whatever movie star is running California.

They regulate everything from leaf blowers to heavy duty trucks. If it has a cylinder, they have a regulation for it.

But most importantly to the environmentalists, CARB is located in California. Far away from pestering Minnesotans, who are concerned with getting crops in, getting materials to job sites, hauling boats on family vacations or driving minivans to ballgames.

The environmental community has a firm grip on CARB and while Minnesotans affected by regulatory whims in California vainly look to their ballots, they will find no California representatives to seek relief from. That&8217;s just the way environmentalists want it. Regulation without representation. They know what&8217;s best for us.

But back to the economy. Try to put aside your fears about California&8217;s high cost of living and high unemployment. What would this law really mean for Minnesota? Well, we would have fewer vehicles to buy and sell.

Auto dealers would not be able to &8220;trade&8221; with other dealers for vehicles demanded by customers unless they could be located within state borders. This is because if it&8217;s not &8220;California certified&8221; it&8217;s not allowed to be registered in Minnesota. If the CO2 standards were allowed to take effect, it would mean fewer big cars and trucks on showroom floors and prices would invariably increase as popular models became scarce.

Lost sales mean lost jobs.

Minnesotans love trucks. We use them for work, play and family. We buy many more minivans and SUVs than cars. But environmentalists intend to alter that with this law because Californians buy more cars than trucks.

A change they intend to force onto working Minnesotans.

Then there&8217;s an ethanol issue. CARB doesn&8217;t like ethanol.

California only has three E85 gas stations in the entire state. Minnesota has more than 300. And because there is no practical way for auto manufacturers to get credit for selling flex-fuel vehicles, they will undoubtedly change course and focus on meeting California&8217;s complicated mandates.

Every state that already has the California law sells substantially fewer flex-fuel vehicles.

Minnesota laws to promote ethanol, so hard fought over the last few years, will have to be changed. Investments will be left cold. The 11-member appointed panel in Sacramento will not be impressed with our economic plight. They&8217;ve regulations to write.

But will all of this economic damage must be worth it? We are saving the world, right? Sadly, no. Federal standards adopted just last December cut greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2020. CARB standards get to the same point by 2016, just four years earlier. If the world&8217;s CO2 problem was the Pacific Ocean, Minnesotan&8217;s adoption of CARB rules would be like trying to drain it with a Dixie cup once a year.

The gain is symbolic, but the economic damage is real. This is about who controls the environment, not about cleaning it up.

Working Minnesotans will lose big time.

Scott Lambert is the Executive Vice President of the Minnesota Auto Dealers Association, a statewide trade group of over 450 franchised new car dealers with over 17,000 employees.

He wrote this column with the assistance of Rick Ryan, the business representative of District Lodge77 of the

International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, and Roger Moore of Blue Earth, the president of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.