SACRAMENTO, CA – Two state California Senate committees on Jun. 9 scheduled an investigative hearing to examine why Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration purchased a new fleet of large sedans and trucks — touting them as green machines — but for two years filled them with regular gas, creating more pollution than many cars in the old fleet, according to the San Jose Mercury News. A joint hearing, by the Senate Governmental Organization Committee and the Senate Committee on Air Quality, is set for Aug. 15. It was called in response to a Mercury News investigation that showed state officials purchased 1,138 flex-fuel vehicles, promising they would help California kick its dependence on petroleum.

The fuel needed to transform the vehicles into clean-driving machines is a high-grade blend of ethanol. However, there are no ethanol stations available to the fleet.

“This seems to be a pattern,” said Sen. Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield, chairman of the Governmental Organization Committee. “The governor loves to take the time to pose and talk about the greening of California, but very little gets done in terms of doing the hard work.” According to Sen. Dean Florez, D-Bakersfield, chairman of the Governmental Organization Committee, in addition to the alternative-fuel fleet, the hearing will look at the state’s failure to meet a Jan. 1, 2007, deadline to install solar energy equipment in state buildings and garages. The law applies to all construction that started on or before Jan. 1, 2003. The Legislature is considering AB 532, which would extend the deadline by two years. It’s unclear how many buildings and garages are out of compliance with the law. The Department of General Services is responsible for environmental policies and laws for the state’s fleet and its buildings.

According to Linda Adams, secretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency, in 2006 the General Services installed 3.2 megawatts of solar power in state buildings, which reduced annual greenhouse gases by 2,725 tons. That’s the equivalent of removing about 740 passenger cars from the road.

Florez said committee members will expect to learn at the hearing why the failures happened and be provided with specific plans for how they’ll be remedied in the near future, according to the San Jose Mercury News.