Time is running out for the Legislature to do the public's business. Yet while plenty of good initiatives may go unaddressed, a bad idea can still grab the lawmakers' attention.

The latest piece of legislative mischief is the attempt to block Pennsylvania from adopting tougher emissions standards for new cars and light trucks. Public be damned; environment be damned. That is the message coming from Harrisburg this week.

Here's why the move is wrong: Some 37 counties, including Allegheny, are in the Environmental Protection Agency's "non-attainment" category for ground-level ozone. Even if it were not required by federal law, this is a big problem that Pennsylvania needs to address. Smog is a contributor to respiratory ailments, especially asthma.

In a process begun under the Ridge administration, Pennsylvania has settled on a program modeled after vehicle emissions standards adopted by California. Last month, the state Environmental Quality Board voted 16-2 to adopt the standard for all new cars and light trucks sold in Pennsylvania starting in model year 2008.

The choice was to adopt the tougher standard or fall back on a weaker federal standard. Ten states, including neighboring New York and New Jersey, have adopted the California standard knowing that it will do more to clean the air. It also makes more sense to target vehicles rather than put another burden on static sources, like businesses.

Motorists are likely to have to pay more for new vehicles, but these models are going to be more fuel-efficient, which will not only spell savings but also reduce the pollutants that contribute to global warming. For these reasons, when public comment was sought on the new standards, some 4,800 Pennsylvanians took the time and trouble to declare their support.

But a group of shortsighted legislators sees this differently. They want to pander to motorists as if that group were oblivious to environmental concerns. Their vehicle to block the California standard and revert to the federal rule is Senate Bill 1025, which passed in February. This old stinker looked like it had run out of gas, but the House Transportation Committee jump-started it last week.

Today SB 1025 may come to a vote. We urge House members to show some courage and decency and vote against this shortsighted bill. Those with no concern for asthmatics deserve the scorn of their constituents.