The Detroit News reports that citizens of the state of California are howling over a proposed bill in the state legislature that would charge them a fee for driving a "gas-guzzling" vehicle.

The Union of Concerned Scientists asserts that such a fee (a more polite way of saying tax) would be levied against about 30 percent of the 1.7 million vehicles sold in the state each year. About 40 percent of car buyers will benefit  from the rebate while 25 percent of car buyers would get nothing. Not surprisingly, environmentalists support the bill, believing that it will help increase the demand for cleaner cars such as hybrids.

The bill does include some exemptions -- minivans and certain types of SUVs.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents General Motors, Ford, (former) DaimlerChrysler AG, and --almost surprisingly--"hybrid leader" Toyota have taken out full page ads in newspapers such as the Sacramento Bee and call for the defeat of the legislation. This is similar to the an ad campaign against a bill that would raise fuel economy mandates to 40 percent by 2020.

The specific amount of the tax and rebate payments as well as the vehicles involved would be determined by the California Air Resources Board. The tax could be as much as $2,500. The state of Vermont considered a similar bill that would have levied a tax of $150 on new cars that have a fuel efficiency rating of less than 20 miles a gallon and trucks that get less than 17 mpg. The bill would have also given a 5 percent tax break to buyers of smaller vehicles. The bill was later dropped by the legislature.