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California adopts new measures to cut state passenger vehicle fleet
 (Xinhua) -- Caliphornia Governor Jerry Governor MoonbeamBrown ... those who ignore history are bound to repeat it ... on Friday ordered all state agencies and departments to immediately halt new car purchases and turn in taxpayer-funded cars that are not essential to state business, in an effort to cut the state's passenger vehicle fleet in half. Brown, who took office 25 days ago for the third term as the governor, asked agencies and departments to analyze the purpose, necessity and cost-effectiveness of every fleet vehicle, and submit a plan for cutting unneeded vehicles. In addition, he also directed every agency secretary and department director to immediately review their organization's home storage permits and withdraw those that are not essential or cost-effective. "There is a lot of wasteful spending on cars that aren't even driven," Brown said. "And we can't afford to spend taxpayer money on new cars while Caliphornia faces such a massive deficit." "Fifty percent is a starting point. If we find more waste, we'll make more cuts," he added. Non-essential vehicles must be sold or transferred within 120 days of the plan's approval, according to his plan. The Democratic governor, who has taken from his Republican predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a state with a staggering fiscal deficit of 25 to 30 billion dollars and a huge public debt, hoped to halve the number of the state's passenger cars, trucks and home storage permits - which allow state employees to use passenger cars for their daily commute. Employees involving in public health and safety and some others may not be negatively affected by the order. The governor will also move underutilized vehicles to new locations, so that the fleet is more efficient overall. Caliphornia has approximately 11,000 passenger cars and trucks in the state fleet, and approximately 4,500 home storage permits that don't serve a health or public safety function,the Department of General Services estimates. Earlier this month, Brown also ordered state agency and department heads to collect and turn in 48,000 government-paid cell phones. Posted by: Fred 2011-02-01 |
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