TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Please accept the attached comments regarding forecasting of vehicle-miles traveled in the reference case scenario.

I live in Shutesbury, MA and am working to pass carbon pollution fee and rebate legislation in Massachusetts. I am the chair of the Carbon Pollution Fee and Rebate Group of Climate Action Now and work as part of the Coalition for a Clean Energy Future, a group that is solely dedicated to passing carbon pollution pricing in MA. We are supporting Representative Jennifer Benson’s bill - H2810 “An Act to Promote Green Infrastructure and Reduce Carbon Emissions.”

We are also very much in support of TCI as an important piece of the climate change solution. It will be so helpful to develop regional plans like this one to price carbon pollution. As you contemplate how to put together the best possible plan, we would stress the importance of charging a significantly high price on carbon pollution and ramping that price up yearly until CO2 goals are met. Without such pricing the bill will not be sufficiently motivating to effect the needed changes in consumer spending. It is also crucial to structure the bill in such a way that it protects low- and moderate-income people from an unsupportable burden.

We also believe that it is imperative that multiple approaches to climate change are enacted in this time of crisis, not just one. The carbon pricing bill our organization supports in MA will cover emissions from heating, cooling, and powering buildings as well as from transportation, and it is supported by climate justice groups. As a fee and rebate bill, it is transparent and has low administrative costs. It’s structure is similar to the fee and rebate bill supported by Citizens Climate Lobby and recently introduced at the federal level. Thus, H2810 will serve as a model for the other states and will support the regional and federal effort.

H2810 is written to be completely compatible with TCI or other carbon pollution pricing proposals. It will subtract the price that TCI charges for a ton of pollution from the price charged by H2810. We need both TCI and H2810. We request that the TCI planning group acknowledge the importance of multiple approaches to cover multiple sources of carbon pollution and that the group advocate for state carbon bills, as well this regional one.

Thank you for all the good work you are doing planning for a regional TCI. We need the TCI bill as well as other local, state, regional, and federal action to successfully and swiftly address climate change, the most significant challenge of our time.

Dear Governor Baker, Secretary Theoharides, and Secretary Pollack,

An uncommon alliance has emerged between five diverse Massachusetts organizations with business constituencies. We are united by a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize and decarbonize our transportation system.

We express strong support for the 18 recommendations developed by the Commission on the Future of Transportation. Specifically, we applaud the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI).

If properly structured, TCI could achieve several of our shared goals concurrently: mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, investing in much-needed public transit, and alleviating congestion. While TCI isn’t the solution to all of our transportation and climate problems, it is a proven and effective policy tool to move us toward a cleaner, less congested transportation system.

We would welcome the chance to speak with you. We also stand in service to help shape the program and build support for TCI among other stakeholders in Massachusetts and across the other TCI states.

Thank you for your early leadership in TCI. We are looking forward to working with your Administration to implement a strong, effective program.

Sincerely,

Robert Rio, Associated Industries of Massachusetts
Mindy Lubber, Ceres
Elizabeth Turnbull Henry, Environmental League of Massachusetts
JD Chesloff, Massachusetts Business Roundtable
Eileen McAnneny, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation

On behalf of eight racial, economic, environmental, and transit justice organizations, we submit the attached letter "Policy Design Principles for an Equitable Clean Transportation Program".

Our Transportation Future (OTF) is a coalition of local, state, regional, and national environmental, health, scientific, transportation, and business organizations committed to modernizing transportation across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. We are sending the attached letters to the Governors of the TCI states and Mayor Bowser in support of the important work that you are your colleagues are doing at the intersection of transportation and the environment. This letter is signed by 59 organizations from across the TCI states. We ask that you please share this letter electronically with your colleagues who are part of the TCI process, as well as any others who may be interested in reading it.

We have to get the cars off the road. We need bus lanes. We need better public transit. Poor people cannot afford cars. Congestion by autos is taking it's toll on every part of our lives. We need to keep the Koch network out of the Mass. economy.

So, a group of well-meaning yet unelected people are pursuing a plan to impose new gas taxes on hard-working, tax paying citizens without following the legislative process. Ever heard of taxation without representation? It was kinda what inspired those who founded this great country and there are a lot of Northeastern citizens who will rally against your efforts. You people need to drop these crazy ideas that will certainly cripple our economy.

Attached, please find a letter congratulating Mayor Bowser and her administration on their contributions to the TCI policy framework and the development process.