A bill has been introduced in the N.C. General Assembly that would promote low emissions vehicles.

The clean car standards bill will require all new, conventional cars sold in the state to meet tighter emissions requirements beginning in 2008. The bill will also require that 10 percent of all new cars sold in the state by 2008 be hybrids or other very low-polluting, advanced technology vehicles.

The bill is similar to measures adopted in eight other states, including California. Those eight states account for 27 percent of the automobiles on the road in the United States.

Vehicle emissions cause unhealthy ozone. Vehicles are contributing to a greater percentage of air pollution in the state as the number of vehicle miles continues to increase rapidly and as power plants work to reduce their share of emissions.

The bill will add less than 1 percent to the sticker price of a new car and save drivers hundreds of dollars a year in fuel costs, according to Michael Shore, Senior Air Policy Analyst with Environmental Defense.

The bill, Senate Bill 1006, has been introduced but has not been taken up in committee. If not approved in committee, it won’t make it to the floor for a vote.