12/17/2019 |
carl |
jahn |
wireless analytics |
charlestown |
Massachusetts |
This should be put to the legislature. This should be put to the legislature. |
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11/4/2019 |
Kirk |
McCauley |
WMDA/CAR service station & repair facilties |
Bowie |
Maryland |
TCI is nothing but a money grab and a different name for a tax on motor fuel. In fact the cost would be added on at retail which will increase tax on gas under our current formula. Complicated and... read more TCI is nothing but a money grab and a different name for a tax on motor fuel. In fact the cost would be added on at retail which will increase tax on gas under our current formula. Complicated and costly with general public paying to enrich electricity providers, Electric car manufactures and public transportation they can't use. Those that purchase electric cars and get rebates are in the upper percentile of wage earners and million are paid out for tax credits they should not be receiving. TCI would be a very regressive tax and disproportionately affect the lower income who can't wait for a rebate or tax credit. This is just a plain bad initiative.
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11/1/2019 |
David |
Walsh |
WOCO Oil Company, Inc. |
Mechanicsville |
Virginia |
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TCI input WOCO 20191101.doc |
1/12/2020 |
Jennifer |
Hodgens |
Woodard & Curran |
Bangor |
Maine |
This is a very bad deal for Maine! The negligible positive impact that is delusionally believed to occur will NOT be worth the financial burden. This is a deal that other states have already... read more This is a very bad deal for Maine! The negligible positive impact that is delusionally believed to occur will NOT be worth the financial burden. This is a deal that other states have already recognized to be lousy and walked away from and Maine needs to do the same. This is worse than the decision to put solar panels on the Blaine House. |
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2/27/2020 |
Richard |
Payne |
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
West Falmouth |
Massachusetts |
Since transportation auses the most greenhouse gas emissions of any of the economic sectos, it only makes common sense to limit that as TCI will do. I am heartily in favor of TCI. Since transportation auses the most greenhouse gas emissions of any of the economic sectos, it only makes common sense to limit that as TCI will do. I am heartily in favor of TCI. |
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5/24/2019 |
Richard |
Payne |
Woods Hole Oceanographic Omstitution |
Falmouth |
Massachusetts |
I am aretired physical oceanographer who has been following the science of climate change for nearly 40 years. I live on Cape cod and, in addition to concern about what sea level rise will do to... read more I am aretired physical oceanographer who has been following the science of climate change for nearly 40 years. I live on Cape cod and, in addition to concern about what sea level rise will do to the Cape I have an 18 year old grandson who will see the worst of climate change effects. I request that the TCI policy call for putting a high enough price on carbon to effectively reduce emission according to the latest science. I also request that the policy have a strong component of social equity and does not harm rural or low to moderate people. I very much appreciate the bipartisan nature of this project. |
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11/4/2019 |
Richard |
Kerver |
Worcester Energy Alliance |
Worcester |
Massachusetts |
Please see the attached comments and materials in PDF format Please see the attached comments and materials in PDF format |
TCIFeedback5Nov19.pdf |
1/18/2020 |
Bill |
Barnett |
WordCraft Editing & Writing Services |
Ithaca |
New York |
The urgent need for clean transportation continues to grow and I therefore strongly support the Transportation and Climate Initiative's mission. We must as a government and society take every... read more The urgent need for clean transportation continues to grow and I therefore strongly support the Transportation and Climate Initiative's mission. We must as a government and society take every conceivable action to mitigate the effects of climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is vital to the cause. It's time to invest in technology that advances this cause. |
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2/19/2020 |
Jen |
Marquis |
Worker |
Windham |
Maine |
I feel that an extra tax on gas would cripple the state economy and do way more harm than good. We in Maine don’t have multiple mass transit options. Please do not place additional burdens on us.... read more I feel that an extra tax on gas would cripple the state economy and do way more harm than good. We in Maine don’t have multiple mass transit options. Please do not place additional burdens on us. We have enough with grocery costs rising, oil and medical bills as well. We the people should have a voice. |
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12/1/2019 |
Bill |
Schineller |
Working commuter and taxpayer |
Sudbury |
Massachusetts |
Gas tax is regressive - proportionally punishes those who can least afford it - those who must travel longer distances to jobs because they can’t afford housing in pricey metropolitan area. From... read more Gas tax is regressive - proportionally punishes those who can least afford it - those who must travel longer distances to jobs because they can’t afford housing in pricey metropolitan area. From CommonWealth Magazine: “ The proposal would mimic a gas tax in that it would raise the price of gasoline.” Please don’t disguise a gas tax with a new name “cap and invest”. Reduce government waste, and fix loopholes to ensure that ultra-rich are not paying a lower effective tax rate than the lower and middle working classes. Use that money to improve mass transit e.g. electric buses on convenient routes. Only then will commuters opt to leave the car at home.
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10/28/2019 |
Debbie |
Petrin |
Working person |
Jackman |
Maine |
What the hell is this women doing. I am totally against this...i can't use a battery operated car. Where i live...why are they forcing this deal down our throats..janet open your eyes. It... read more What the hell is this women doing. I am totally against this...i can't use a battery operated car. Where i live...why are they forcing this deal down our throats..janet open your eyes. It's hard enough to make a living in the poor part of maine...aka western mountains..why are you trying to make it harder...didnt vote for you....and encourage people not to support you... |
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10/15/2020 |
jon |
longsworth |
World Citizen |
Aptos |
California |
For a strong Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) program, right out of the gate:
– Before 2032 (if not in half that time, 2027 or sooner): a reduction in carbon emissions to no less... read more For a strong Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) program, right out of the gate:
– Before 2032 (if not in half that time, 2027 or sooner): a reduction in carbon emissions to no less than, indeed hopefully well under three-quarters of current rates -- at bare minimum -- when we've really needed it at 100%, DECADES ago
– Irreproachable investment in active transportation, e.g., bicycling infrastructure; high quality public transit; improved sidewalks
– An increase by no less than one-third or more greater investment in traditionally disadvantaged communities, the overburdened and underserved since living memory
Get this right. |
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10/16/2020 |
Brad |
Snyder |
World citizen, Scientist, Educator, Goals: Protect the natural world/nature/biodiversity, Fight climate change. |
Maple Grove |
Minnesota |
As a Science Teacher/Outdoor-Environmental Educator and a former Engineer, my top priorities have always been the three E's - Energy, Environment, and Education!
We MUST... read more As a Science Teacher/Outdoor-Environmental Educator and a former Engineer, my top priorities have always been the three E's - Energy, Environment, and Education!
We MUST eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and prepare for the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Revolutions (which have already started!)! This must include the following:
- 100% electrification of homes, buildings, and transportation systems (vehicles, buses, trucks, mass transit)!
- Immediately stop ALL exploration and development of fossil fuel sources.
- Immediately stop ALL development of fossil fuel infrastructure (e.g. pipelines, power plants)!
- Eliminate ALL fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks!
- Increase spending on research and development of renewable energy, energy storage, and improving energy efficiency!
- Implement natural climate solutions (e.g. restoring and conserving the natural world/ecosystems)!
- Improve environmental literacy of all citizens, but especially our youth! |
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2/26/2020 |
Nancy |
Jenkins |
writer |
Camden |
Maine |
One quick partial solution to our carbon output would be to provide funding for electric buses for all school districts throughout the state. Probably (I'm guessing, have no statistics) more... read more One quick partial solution to our carbon output would be to provide funding for electric buses for all school districts throughout the state. Probably (I'm guessing, have no statistics) more fuel is consumed in bussing kids to and from school and other activities than any other transportation system in Maine and this would go a long way toward mitigating our output.
Providing public transportation throughout the state is a really thorny problem since we are such a sprawled population but I am convinced that here on the coast at least affordable housing would help resolve some of that. Every morning and every afternoon in Camden, Rockland, and other midcoast communities where the jobs are, hordes of mostly large SUVs, often with heavy snowplows attached, and usually with just one occupant, flood in from Washington, Appleton, Hope (the hinterland), as workers drive from where they live to where they work. Housing costs in the midcoast have soared so high, often with out-of-state demand for a piece of the coast of Maine, that employees at all levels can no longer afford to live in the town where they work.
Beyond that, of course, is the problem of public transportation which almost seems insoluble in a state as large and with a population as sprawling as Maine's. I will be looking for creative solutions to this--tax relief for shared vehicles? more and safer bicycle lanes? more power outlets for electric vehicles? Everything I come up with seems like a minor stopgap measure but there HAS to be a way to get people where they want to go (and, equally important, when they want to go there) that doesn't involve massive single-person transit by the most energy-wasteful form of population that humankind has invented, the personal automotive vehicle. Perhaps a good way to start would be by funding a huge research effort at the University of Maine. |
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2/27/2020 |
William |
Neil |
Writer Daily Kos |
Frostburg |
Maryland |
Dear TCI Initiative:
This is not a new topic for me, stuck in traffic, and Neoliberal austerity preventing the public funding of serious mass transit alternatives. The solution is... read more Dear TCI Initiative:
This is not a new topic for me, stuck in traffic, and Neoliberal austerity preventing the public funding of serious mass transit alternatives. The solution is the Green New Deal at the National Level, because the sums your proposals put forth in the trading regime will not be enough to build out the missing rail connections which stopped with the Purple and Silver lines in the Metro Area.
So I support your work as a holding action and interim step, better than Governor Hogan's privatization plan to build more highway lanes. That's not what we need.
I've attached my essay and publication here at the Daily Kos: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/8/1794256/-Maryland-Hogan-s-Highways-will-still-leave-us-Stuck-in-Traffic-on-the-road-to-Global-Warming
The full text of my essay from January of 2008, "A Citizen's Guide to the Missing Green Rail Visions for the Metro MD/DC Region" exceeds your submission file limit of 100 MB's so you will have to rely on the full text in the link above, which was kindly published at the Daily Kos.
Of course, we both know that the America of the Trumpian Republican Right, more traditional Republican Conservatives like Gov. Larry Hogan and the Clintonian-Biden Democratic Centrist fiscally cannot imagine anything of the scope needed to combat climate change/chaos in time, anything approaching even the scale needed to build an effective modern rail system.
To do that, we do need change beyond these self-imposed limits. That's why I am a Green New Deal Supporter and support Bernie Sanders in the coming elections. |
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11/25/2019 |
Gordon |
Silva |
WRKO |
Medford |
Massachusetts |
You people want these taxes to create more jobs and profits for MORE political hacks. YOU ARE KILLING THE GOLDEN GOOSE! You people want these taxes to create more jobs and profits for MORE political hacks. YOU ARE KILLING THE GOLDEN GOOSE! |
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2/26/2020 |
Alicia |
Contelmo |
WRWC |
Providence |
Rhode Island |
I support TCI because transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in my state and we have to act on climate. I support TCI because transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in my state and we have to act on climate. |
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12/8/2019 |
Steven |
DiVirgilio |
www.stevedcpa.com |
Everett |
Massachusetts |
PFMLA tax, increases sales taxes, higher real estate taxes. Time for businesses and individuals to move to New Hampshire!
www.stevedcpa.com PFMLA tax, increases sales taxes, higher real estate taxes. Time for businesses and individuals to move to New Hampshire!
www.stevedcpa.com |
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2/14/2020 |
Ted |
Kidd |
X |
Rochester |
New York |
I traveled from Rochester New York to New York City in my Chevrolet Bolt and was basically stranded in Herkimer because all of the Electrify America fast charging stations were out of order.... read more I traveled from Rochester New York to New York City in my Chevrolet Bolt and was basically stranded in Herkimer because all of the Electrify America fast charging stations were out of order.
We need more DC fest charging stations and better reliabilityor these automobile manufacturers are going to be producing cars nobody will buy. |
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10/31/2019 |
Stan |
Moran |
Xpress Markets Inc |
Riner |
Virginia |
Xpress Markets, Inc., currently employs 90 people, is strongly opposed to the "framework for a draft regional policy proposal" which seeks to expropriate the petroleum marketing... read more Xpress Markets, Inc., currently employs 90 people, is strongly opposed to the "framework for a draft regional policy proposal" which seeks to expropriate the petroleum marketing industry. Over time this plan proposes to move Virginia from simple rationing and new taxes to the ultimate prohibition of fossil fuels.
This plan does not assess the collateral damage it will inflict on state revenue, local tax collections, Virginia's Transportation Trust fund, and consumers.
Many of the advocates of these policies support regulation to electrify transportation. Those advocates somehow forget to mention that a major component of batteries powering these vehicles is cobalt, 90 percent of which is mined in third world countries under unfavorable working conditions.
As the number of electric vehicles grows, petroleum marketers will likely have to battle for a share of the electric vehicle charging market with utility companies that see EV charging as a new business opportunity without cost. When utility companies install charging stations, they may seek the ability to include that cost as part of their capital investment. When these costs are approved by governmental regulatory agencies, they can then be passed on to all ratepayers as part of their monthly electric bills.
Xpress Markets, Inc believes this would provide regulated utilities an unfair competitive advantage that Virginia based small businesses simply cannot compete with. I must economically justify and self-fund at risk investments in new equipment like EV charging stations and so should my competition.
Another likely competitor under this scheme is the state government itself. This is not a concept, as just this past session the General Assembly passed legislation to allow the Departments of Conservation and Recreation, General Services, and Transportation to install electric chargers. Fortunately our association was able to narrow this initiative considerably by limiting the number of state agencies involved and mitigating the threat of unfair competition by requiring the state to sell the power at prevailing market rates including taxes.
All Virginians, particularly the petroleum marketing and convenience industries, support a clean environment. There are many ways to achieve this without rationing. Incentivizing the sale of electric vehicles does nothing to meet your stated goals of "equity, environmental justice, and non-discrimination." As one example, the stated goals could be achieved far faster and cheaper via efforts to assist low-income Virginians to purchase more fuel efficient vehicles that meet current and future CAFÉ standards.
History has proven that rationing followed by prohibition - the ultimate goal of TCI - has led to black markets, unregulated and untaxed sales, and undue burdens on law enforcement.
The impact of these proposals will not be solely on fuel sellers and convenience stores - what about the auto repair industry, muffler shops, service facilities at new car dealers, quick lubes etc.? What about agriculture, construction and watermen who will be forced to scrap present equipment or pay artificially high prices due to rationing? What about the consumer who will experience not only higher prices to operate their personal vehicles, but higher prices for consumer goods and services?
Xpress Markets, Inc opposes the TCI plan to ration, tax and ultimately eliminate fossil fuels. |
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