TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I am writing to voice my strong opposition to the TCI. Maine is predominantly a rural state, without public transportation except in the larger cities. Many working Mainers have no option other than to drive their personal or business vehicles to their employment. How can raising the fuel tax by, initially, 17 cents per gallon, benefit these workers?

Mainers already suffer the third highest tax burden, behind New York and Hawaii, while ranking 43rd in per capita income (as of 2018). The last thing hard working Mainers need is an additional tax! I suspect you are well aware of these statistics.

Not only will this tax affect each individual on every gallon of fuel they purchase, it also increases the tax burden from their local municipalities, as well as the state government. Fuel for municipal and state vehicles is paid by tax dollars. Fire equipment, police vehicles, animal control officers, building inspectors, school busses and so on and so on and so on...all paid for by the taxpayer!!! Technically, the additional tax burden on each individual is a lot more than a "mere" 17 cents per gallon. It will be added to ALL products and services that are delivered over the highways and these deliveries do not go through Maine on their way to somewhere else...Maine is the end of the line. This "17 cent a gallon" will be increased many times over for all Maine citizens.

This initiative is a bad plan for hard working Mainers and will do very little to reduce carbon emissions, by the TCI's own admission. What it will do is make it much more difficult for hard working Mainers "make ends meet". It will affect low income and the elderly in Maine much more significantly than citizens in more affluent states to the south.

This is a bad idea.

My husband walks a mile rain or shine to ride the bus to work in Hartford. The public transportation system is critical to him. However, since moving to CT, he has a cough which he attributes to low air quality. When I travel to Washington DC I use bus transportation. It is efficient and cost effective. We do have a hybrid gas/electric vehicle which we charge at the charging station in front of our
town hall. My family requests Gov Lamont formally join the TCI Initiative and pursue aggressive greenhouse gas emissions reductions so
air quality in our cities (for our school children and others like my husband) will improve and the transportation sector will support
individuals like us seeking to transition to electric vehicles and public transport. We appreciate Gov Lamont's leadership.

Sincerely,
Jon and Susan Olson, 109 Hopmeadow St, Weatogue, CT

Thank you for this initiative to cap and reduce emissions from transportation. This is important work.
Please strive to make the options and tradeoffs as clear as possible to citizens and experts alike. In addition to the dense reports you write, please help put the choices in perspective in as clear and simple a way as possible. For example, here's a simple pamphlet in comic style that conveys costs comparisons. Check it out: https://twitter.com/sarahmirk/status/1231993627900956677

Adding hidden taxes to fuel is pathetic. Do you understand how many Mainers drive long distances for work? I myself drive around 400 miles a week just for my job?
You’re preparing to tax folks right out of living here. I’ve voted Democrat many times in the past...looks like that should change because obviously NO ONE is looking out for the little guy...just looking to continue to RAPE us of our hard earned money.
Sad...how sad. Mills has to go!!
LePage is coming back...never voted for him...but damn sure won’t vote Mills ever again.

This totally insane Mills should be ashamed of her stupidity and lack of any understanding of the people of Maine. Electric cars are a joke especially in the north any person with a brain would know how this does not work. Mills is totally incompetent and is doing damage to this state with her out of wack leftist mentality. No way can we tolerate a fuel tax. She needs to be run out of town for her absurd policies. We are not the stupid latte bunch in metro cities that this might fit. No Mainers work for a living and trucks along with cars are needed to get to those jobs. Mills is without a doubt a total idiot .

No to the gas tax!! Anyone north of Portland cant afford this!!! This will hurt everyone!!

I support the Transportation and Climate Initiative as a Philadelphia resident and father of two children. I also support it as a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician with many patients whose lung diseases are worsened by poor air quality. A comprehensive program creating a safe environment for biking and walking, along with improved public transportation is crucial for the health of our city and region and would make the region a more vibrant and desirable place to live. We also have a responsibility to future generations to play our part in mitigating the effects of climate change. This should be a top priority for anyone who wants want is best for our region and the world.

I drive an EV I order to reduce my carbon emissions. Please adopt policies to further efficient transportation using renewable power sources
I have cut back my own travel to far away places unless I can go by train and/or bus. I want our leaders to enact legislation that puts an end to the current gas guzzling vehicles and airplanes that we Americans use so carelessly

The Transportation and Climate Initiative is already an impressive feat in terms of environmental action. The independent organization and union of so many states and stakeholders to address this critical issue sets a commendable example to the rest of the country and demonstrates that we need to act. Transportation is a particularly impactful area with regard to energy use (especially fossil fuel consumption) and also environmental justice. Mobility allows people to not only meet their basic needs but also to access economic opportunities, and with lower-income individuals tending to not have access to personal cars, good public transit is necessary to ensure equitable access to jobs and resources.1,2 Fortunately, the TCI already “recognize[s] and [commits] to investing in and mitigating the impacts on low-income and disadvantaged communities.” The initiative receives my support so long as it makes concerted efforts in the following areas to ensure just outcomes.

Firstly, the cap and invest strategy proposed to bring down emissions and finance the transition to cleaner options needs to protect low-income consumers from gas price increases. In many cap programs, the cost of buying emissions allowances gets passed down to the consumer who ultimately uses the energy source, and this disproportionately impacts lower-income populations.3 Consumers can be shielded from the impact of these added costs through state programs, which can either aid individuals and households in lowering gasoline consumption or provide financial assistance to those with trouble affording their expenses. Rebates and subsidies present more traditional methods, while climate credits are a newer solution; in essence, part of the revenue generated from the sale of emissions allowances returns to consumers to offset the cap costs.3

Secondly, the TCI projects, through this transition to cleaner transportation, a “modest” increase in jobs. Perhaps this isn’t a main benefit of the program, but low-income communities should be given preferential access to these opportunities. Clean energy jobs in particular provide a substantial economic boost to people of lower income brackets: the poverty rates for people who have not completed college or high school are higher than for those who have;4 however, people without higher education can still access these jobs and even make more money than in other jobs for which they would be sufficiently educationally qualified.5 While this would be a more indirect equity outcome of the TCI, it is an important contribution to the upliftment of vulnerable communities and a way to guarantee that they benefit from this initiative.

Addressing climate change is a critical task and by no means an easy one, especially given the wide array of problems to be solved. Given its hefty role in emissions and in our daily lives, transportation is a key place to initiate the shift to cleaner energy. However, in setting a cap on fuel use, the TCI cannot further burden low-income communities. So long as this program fights to uplift vulnerable populations and actively include them in the transition to sustainability, it has my full support.


References
1: White, G.B. (2015, May 26). Stranded: How America’s failing public transportation increases inequality. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/stranded-how-americas-failing-public-transportation-increases-inequality/393419/.
2: Sanchez, T.W., Brenman, M., Ma, J.S., & Stolz, R.H. (2018). What is transportation equity? In The right to transportation: Moving to equity (pp. 7-11). Routledge.
3: Aldersebaes, J. (2016, Aug 8). Environmental justice wins with California cap-and-trade. Triple Pundit. https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/environmental-justice-wins-california-cap-and-trade/23946.
4: UC Davis Center for Poverty Research. (n.d.). How does level of education relate to poverty? [Graphs]. Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/how-does-level-education-relate-poverty.
5: Marcacci, S. (2019, Apr 22). Renewable energy job boom creates economic opportunity as coal industry slumps. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2019/04/22/renewable-energy-job-boom-creating-economic-opportunity-as-coal-industry-slumps/#60a1997a3665.