Meet the socialist behind Californias outrageous tire regulations

This week, five unelected California Energy Commission members unanimously adopted new rules that will make an estimated 70% of the tires currently sold in California illegal by 2033. Given the Golden State’s history of seeing its regulations — from vehicle emissions to appliance standards — become de facto national rules because of the size of the California market, these restrictions could be coming soon to many other states.The Energy Commission’s rules will be imposed in two phases, so that by 2033 they will ban the sale — both retail and online — of replacement tires that don’t meet exacting energy efficiency standards. But not to worry, the Energy Commission claims. The new tires have lower “rolling resistance” and thus use less gasoline or electricity to move a vehicle. So the commission claims the savings will more than compensate consumers for the higher cost of tires — something it claims will top out at just $6.50 a tire. Gov.Gavin Newsom amplified those claims on Wednesday.

“The ROI is pretty good,” he said, promising that drivers would “save a billion dollars a year in fuel” under the new tire regulations.But the commission hasn’t shared its homework, so it’s unclear if that’s accurate.The chief economist of the California Department of Finance is questioning the Energy Commission’s cost assumptions.New cars come with generally efficient tires, but consumers typically replace those with higher “rolling resistance” models.

Goodyear Tires warns the increased costs to consumers could run to the hundreds of dollars. That’s because most all-season replacement tires last roughly 65,000 miles.

But the European-standard tires that would be mandated by the new rules average 27,000 miles, meaning consumers will have to replace them twice as often.So drivers may switch to previously-owned tires, which cost half the price of new ones. Have commission bureaucrats calculated the safety implications of that? And if...