MANHATTAN (CN) - Taxicab operators claim the City of New York violated the Constitution by moving up the target date to enforce clean air laws from 2012 to Oct. 1 this year. The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade claims the "ill-considered political decision" requiring taxis to reduce emissions and increase fuel efficiency to 25 mpg will "endanger the lives of tens of thousands of New Yorkers."
In their federal complaint, the cabbies claim Mayor Michael Bloomberg and The New York City Taxicab & Limousine Commission violated the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. The cabbies say only the federal government may set fuel efficiency and emissions standards. They say that moving up the enforcement date by 4 years is "dangerous, irrational, arbitrary and capricious."
The cabbies are represented by Richard Emery.
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