Two bills proposed by Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef to reduce emissions throughout the county passed in the Legislature Wednesday.

One of the bills calls for the county?s purchase of hybrid vehicles to replace some of its existing cars and low sulfur fuel, which can reduce emissions by up to 9 percent.The second bill orders the reduction in exhaust emissions from Rockland?s diesel-powered vehicles. The county has a fleet of 500 cars and many are diesel powered.

Vanderhoef proposed a third bill that called for a $1,000 fine for residents idling for more than three minutes in a diesel-powered car. That bill did not pass since a law against idling for more than three minutes was already on the books. Vanderhoef said the fine would have added more teeth to the existing law.