Although state legislators easily passed a bill allowing solo-occupant hybrid cars to use car-pool lanes, the new law faces a tough fight in Washington and might not take effect on Jan. 1.

The law signed Sept. 23 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger allows drivers of hybrid vehicles that achieve 45 miles per gallon to use the car-pool lanes without having to meet the current two-occupant rule.

But Congress also has to approve the law because federal money is used to fund the lanes for high-occupancy vehicles, or HOVs. And provisions of the law are tied up in the multibillion-dollar highway spending bill that may not be voted on for months.

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