The Government of Letara is excited to announce that turn-out for spending and lobbying once again exceeded expectations. Here is a run-down of the results:
Spending
In total, there are now 11 companies with assemblies and a further 17 companies own a factory. This abundance is necessitating the expansion of the current plots, as well as establishing the new city of Tulsaje that will support a new manufacturing plot near the border of Somunds.
Education received a large influx of monetary support. First, KHI pushed hard for their “Letaran Enrichment Initiative” with the aim to establish a new School of Technology at Mount Modred. Although the proposed site in the historic tourist town is not for such a modern school, the tech school will be established in Tulsaje and the main building named after KHI.
Research in Mechanical Engineering received much support and has greatly advanced in the past decade. Petrochemical Engineering and Aerodynamics have also received a decent amount of funding and have seen modest progression. Materials Science and Electrical Engineering have received only minor support; just enough to keep up with other industries.
The Lerance Raceway has received abundant funds for improvements to and around the track. These changes are sure to keep the track modern and auto racing the most important form of sports entertainment in Letara for another decade.
Road construction and maintenance have also received a decent amount of funding. With the new government’s added funds this will result in an improved and well-maintained road network in Letara.
Rail infrastructure has also seen a decent influx of money, most notably from General Automotive. With added government funds this will allow for duplicating and electrifying some tracks and making the whole train network more efficient.
The airport received negligible funding, and even with government support this is not sufficient to expand the airport. At least it will remain at its current level without dilapidation occurring.
There was some funding set aside for a TV campaign against leaded fuels. The government fully supports such health-focused ad campaigns, and this push was regarded as a great success. Combined with lobbying, a greener and healthier future for Letara will be secured.
Car companies have also spend various amounts on diverse industries. The forestry industry has received the most funds; enough to finalize the large reforestation campaign around Mt. Modred with quick-growing trees. The agriculture industry has also received good support. This will allow the expansion of the sector around Brospyne, as well as preparing the northern peninsula’s poor soil for future expansion, if desired. The added funding toward an ethanol production facility will secure Letara’s E-fuel supply for the foreseeable future.
Immortale Automotive set aside a small pot of money to open a small iron ore mine. This small operation will be up and running near Zekerdal. Perhaps this will allow this sleepy town to blossom into a more prosperous mining town similar to Fortune?
Mara initiated a small push toward opening a coal ore mine, which was now possible even with the modest funds after resources were identified in the past decade. The small mine will be opened near Chanceille, which is already well situated with its established forestry industry.
Both the coal and iron ore need to be exported as aggregates. Since the conversion of the Storia Harbour for general shipping, it no longer supports aggregate transport; without support for the shipping industry and no government funds left available, these aggregates will be shipped to Somunds by train for the time being.
Popas and Capital have both put equal amounts of funds toward a convention centre and auto exhibition. The large convention centre in Lerance is a perfectly adequate place to hold car shows, but the funds can be used to renovate the centre and make it more suitable for such purposes. Since neither company contributed more than the other, the convention centre’s name remains Lerance Convention Centre - LCC for short. As main sponsors, however, both companies receive recognition in the form of commemorative tiles near the entrance of the building. (OOC: I do like the idea of a Letara car show to showcase concept cars or whatnot, but that would be too much work for me. I also do not want to clutter this thread with a side-challenge of sorts. So, if any of you would like to hold a “Letara-inspired car show” in a separate thread, then I am all for it.)
Several other initiatives received minor funding. First, there is funding set aside for a car park building in Lerance, which would alleviate some of the potential future parking shortages in the capital. Minor funding was received to preserve Mount Modred’s historic hotels, which the government fully supports as well and appreciates the help; this will bolster the tourist attraction value of the town. Some funding was made available to make unleaded fuel available in all areas of the country; this was already the case, but the better supply chain should prevent bad batches from occurring. There was some support for the Letaran Communist Party (by Mara). So they can now afford a new apartment overlooking the harbour in Storia to establish their HQ in. There was also a small amount of funds to establish (or rather support, as it already existed) a Letaran Natural Disaster Response Force, which is much appreciated by the government. Last, but not least, the Letaran Police Force received some funds.
Lobbying
Lobbying saw some issues highly contested, while others were clear-cut. First, the issue of taxes - always a contentious issue. In terms of an engine displacement tax, there was a small push for such a tax, but there is no consensus as to how it should be implemented. However, there as a much larger push against such a tax, so the government will not consider it further.
As for fuel economy tax, it was mostly ignored by companies. Only two companies provided a small push against such a proposal, but there is a much larger for push by one company. The government will consider this carefully, as it is a large and convincing push, but it has to be weighed against that it is only by one company.
Overall there was more active lobbying around a luxury tax, but in the end the result is a wash. The government recognizes that this would be a good way to generate income without hurting those in the most need, so without a clear signal from the car industry, this kind of taxation will be considered.
There was one company that wished to impose taxes on uncomfortable or hard to drive cars. In the government’s opinion this doesn’t make much sense; why tax a car that would likely fail in the marketplace anyway? Not much tax money to be gathered from a product that won’t sell anyway.
Two companies provided a mild push to reduce import taxes on cars not assembled or manufactured in Letara. This notion is rejected by the government, as it is one of the core principles of Letara, and provides a push toward establishing well-paying jobs for Letarans.
Two companies also provided a small push toward reducing the existing “safety-tax”. The current government will look into this, as safety regulations will be changed anyway (more on that later).
Finally, one company pushed for no changes to the current tax system. We appreciate their confidence in the past government’s vision, but as they are no longer in power, they have no more say in the matter. The current government has big plans with Letara, which will necessitate a revision of taxation.
The first issue on the table for car regulations is what fuels the cars can use. There is an overwhelming push to ban leaded fuel outright. With the advertising campaign also successful, the Letaran people are also supportive of this push. So from now on, leaded fuel will be banned from Letara. There is also a decent push to only have unleaded fuel available in Letara (and thus ban E fuels), and a push in the opposite direction toward only having E fuels. With the expansion of both the forestry industry, agriculture, and the establishment of the ethanol plant, banning E fuels is not something the government will entertain.
In terms of emissions, there was a push for implementation of emissions regulations, but a stronger push against such measures. For now, the government will be satisfied with the banning of leaded fuels, and assess how unleaded and E fuels stack up without mandating any emissions standards. However, a close eye will be kept on cars’ emissions in the next decade in order to be able to make a more informed decision then.
Tires were the most clear-cut of any lobbying item. Radials are heavily favoured by most companies, and the government cannot deny their safety and efficacy as witnessed in at the Lerance Raceway. Thus, radials are in. Despite a small push to outright ban cross-ply tires, the government feels like they are tested and true, so there is no need to ban them on any justifiable grounds; if the market feel like they are not useful anymore, they will phase out on their own.
Very minor lobbying was received against tighter noise regulations, but it seems that this is overall not a very important issue for car companies. For now, the limit will stay the same.
There was a sizable push to keep lighting regulations as the status quo. There was an about 50/50 split for and against a double-headlight mandate. For now, single headlights will be allowed with a single bulb doing double duty as regular light and brights. There was an about equal split for/against amber indicator lights too, so for now red rear and white cover (amber bulb) front indicators will remain legal. Lastly, there was a small push to mandate front and rear side markers, so the government will consider this.
There was a large push for US-size license plates, eclipsing a push for European or other size/format standards. This was such a convincing argument that the government feels compelled to implement US size plates as the norm.
There was a rather large push to tighten speed limits with only a tiny push to loosen them. The government will take a look at the current rules and regulations, and consider this in light of the new road construction happening all across the country and the larger passenger car population occupying said roads.
Safety regulations implemented by the previous government were received poorly. This government concurs; the dummies used in their outdated testing methods were only evaluated based on the car’s ability to absorb shocks received when the car was hit by a foreign object. It did not account for the car hitting other objects and the associated rapid deceleration, the many internal injuries, cuts and bruises from flying glass and unsafely secured fixtures, nor did it account for the bodies hitting internal surfaces as their momentum carried them into the dashboard. So the current government feels vindicated in their assessment by the clear push toward changes in the safety regulations by car companies. As for how the new safety regulations should be implemented, there is still a wide range of opinions by companies, and the government also has their experts working on the problem. But rest assured, changes are coming.
An overwhelming majority of votes was for keeping the Lerance Raceway as Letara’s premier car sporting venue. With the raceway still new, and the great success it has seen over the years, the government could not agree more. Especially with the large sums of money dedicated for improvements, it is very clear that the Lerance Raceway is here to stay.
The race format, however, seems to be quite divisive subject. There really is no consensus what format, what classes, and what rules/regulations should be implemented. Some want long 12-hour/enduro races, some want more unlimited Group-7 type race cars, some want rallying with dirt elements, some want touring cars, some want other regulations involving SVC calculations and tire size limits, and there was one vote for oval racing (without any proposal/funding for such a track, mind you). Since there is really no consensus on any of this, the government will assess its options and also do public consultation to see what the people of Letara want to see most.
Lastly, there was a singular lobbying point spent on the legalization of gambling - which was already legal (see - bookies at the races), so no change will be needed on this front.
