Nick Coltrain

nickcoltrain@coloradoan.com

State Rep. Joann Ginal's bill to fine soot-shooting diesel drivers stalled in the state Senate on Tuesday.

Ginal, D-Fort Collins, said she wrote the bill to target the activity, not the modifications. She had input from Fort Collins law enforcement and city officials on the bill. The bill would have created a $35 fine for those who rig light diesel trucks to blast thick, black exhaust and use it to obscure roadways or harass pedestrians, referred to as rolling coal. It would have also tacked two points on the offender's license. Too many points in a one- or two-year period will lead to license suspension.

The bill passed out of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote earlier this month. It failed on a party-line vote in the Senate transportation committee, with the three Republicans voting against it. A phone message to the chair of the committee, Sen. Randy Baumgardner, R-Cowdrey, was not immediately returned Wednesday.

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Ginal wrote in a text message that she plans to bring the bill back next year, possibly with revisions and additional input from law enforcement.

She said support for the bill has increased as more people have experienced being blasted with rolling coal.

Ginal said previously that Fort Collins law enforcement and city officials asked her to look into how to curb rolling coal. Councilman Bob Overbeck, an advocate for the bill, said he's heard of diners in Old Town getting doused with soot while enjoying patio weather, and stories of pedestrians or other motorists catching a plume are as common as a drive down College Avenue.

The behavior earned the ire of even pro-diesel advocacy group Diesel Technology Forum. In a letter to the editor, the Washington, D.C., based group wrote the practice "runs against everything" the industry has worked toward, including it efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

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