Just a year ago in this space, I described how the California Air Resources Board (CARB) wanted to end the sale of non-electric trucks (both sales and rentals) in the state by January 1, 2009. At the time, I hoped that CARB would reconsider the details of its working documents. And since then, they have.

To begin, CARB appears to have shifted its stance a bit. It is no longer looking to ban the sale of non-electrics, according to Gary Cross, counsel for the Industrial Truck Association, and one of the closest observers of the situation I know. He says CARB is now taking "a more flexible approach" that includes electrics, internal combustion engine retrofits and super clean engines.

In addition, CARB had, until just recently, shifted the onus solely from lift truck suppliers to include end users. It did that first by moving away from its electric-only requirement. Instead, the regulatory body was moving to an overall reduction of fleet emission levels of 80% by 2010. In addition, the focus has shifted from trucks under 8,000 pound capacity to those under 6,000 pounds.

"If they do this right, it could be livable," says Cross. "But at this point I don't know what they're going to do." And neither does anyone else for that matter.

But just last month, two new options were floated, and both shifted the onus back to lift truck suppliers. One would set emissions standards for trucks that will be stricter than those set by the EPA for 2007. The other establishes a fleet average for emissions by lift truck supplier rather than by end user. Just as automakers must meet a fleet average mileage number, lift truck suppliers would have to do the same with emissions.

Cross expressed surprise and concern over this. Yet, he "is not overly concerned" because it isn't known yet how seriously the options are being considered.

So here's the good news and the bad news.

The good news is CARB has stepped away from requiring a particular technology (electric). That's both smart and in keeping with the group's charter. It even takes into account that not every application is best served by an electric lift truck. Furthermore, the timeline has moderated, making it less likely that so many usable lift trucks will be scrapped before their time.

The bad news is that this issue is still wide open, although CARB's goal appears to be to settle it by November. Whatever the regulation, it seems sure to significantly change lift truck fleets in California, and we all know how difficult such drastic change is.

What's most important here is that the change be sensible. And that means the devil will be in the details of what CARB finally decides.