TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Stop this wealth redistribution scam taxpayers will not be able to stop the world from its changing weather it is a living planet!!! So stop the madness of taxation without representation

The People of Maine have long distances to get to work, shopping, and medical appointments. Maine also has a large population of people on fixed incomes. This tax will hurt many in our state and negatively impact our way of life. Vote no!!!! No TCI. Vermont and NH are aware of the hardship this tax increase will place on their residents. NO TCI!

I support the Transportation and Climate Initiative and applaud efforts to decrease climate pollution by enacting policies to modernize the current transportation sector. Transportation polluters should be held accountable and elected officials are responsible for creating and implementing a plan to make this initiative a reality.

Our outdated and antiquated transportation system is Maine’s largest source of climate pollution—and it doesn’t even come close to meeting the needs of Maine people!
Maine people deserve clean, modern, affordable transportation options that deliver economic, health, and climate benefits to local communities.
It makes good sense for Maine to work with neighboring states through TCI’s bipartisan, proven policy model.

Transportation is the number one source of climate pollution in the United States. In order to cut emissions, and to slow the impact of global warming, we need to reimagine the way that we transport people and goods.

The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the city of Washington, D.C., are working on a groundbreaking policy to modernize the transportation sector under the Transportation and Climate Initiative.

We need a plan that holds large transportation polluters accountable for the pollution they create and invests in clean transportation solutions including:
• More public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas
• Expansion of commuter rail, electric vehicles, and streets in the suburbs that are safe, walkable, and bikeable
• Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities

I fully support this and I urge TCI to aggressively promote and adopt innovative initiatives. I live in a suburb of Boston, where traffic is terrible and public transit is, too! For the most part, unless we work in downtown Boston or Worcester, we are forced to drive. We need alternatives that allow growth and economic vitality with minimal additional pollution.

Pushing for electric vehicles only transfers emissions from tailpipes to smoke stacks of power plants and battery factories that have other pollution issues is no solution. Mills is blind to the real issues facing Mainers. We are a large rural state in a cold climate and T.C.I. is a ridiculouse idea that can only have a negative impact on the People of Maine.

The attached comments specifically address the proposal to use a cap-and-invest approach. I propose that instead of funding the programs from auction proceeds as suggested in the framework that the funding come from a tax and that all proceeds be invested as planned in the cap-and-invest approach. There are too many differences between historical market trading programs that successfully reduced emissions and what is proposed for the TCI to expect that the proposed program will work as well. In addition, there are advantages to a tax which can be summed up as simpler is better.