TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

This initiative should not move forward. It will increase cost and stifle business across all sectors of business. Maine is at the end of the transportation line and anything that involves increasing transportation costs is bad for business and every citizen in maine. Negative impact will be amplified for rural businesses and citizens. Please stop this process.

Dear Governor Scott -

I was pleased to see that many northeastern U.S. states including Vermont have signed a memorandum of understanding in regards to setting up a Transportation Climate Initiative marketplace.

As the world heats up, we have been falling further and further behind in reducing our carbon emissions. This, as you know, is definitely true of Vermont.

The new TCI can set a really solid structure to begin addressing carbon pollution in the transportation sector more aggressively, by raising new moneys through the cap and trade approach. This approach has worked well in other energy sectors with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, so there's good reason to think it will work just as well in the transportation sector.

In this era when Vermont has limited ability to raise revenues, collaborating with so many other northeastern states in this approach makes eminent sense. I would like the parameters of the program to be as aggressive as possible so that we can begin making substantive progress reducing carbon in the transportation sector. Whether it be more fully funding electric school buses, or finding money for more electric vehicle charging stations, or incentivizing a hefty increase in purchase of electric vehicles, or other creative and innovative approaches, it's well past the time to really ramp up this type of work.

Thanks so much for your time.

Michael Bosworth

I strongly appose this initiative. Pennsylvania already has one of the highest fuel taxes in the nation. We have been throwing money at public transportation for decades with no added results. The problem is we citizens like our cars, adding another tax to pay for something that isn't fully used now is ridiculous, it is also already heavily subsidized with the current fuel taxes. If you're a politician that votes for this, don't expect to stay in office, this tax will hurt the average taxpayer and we remember. This idea sounds like the elites that have the largest carbon footprint, stating they buy credits to be carbon neutral, which makes no sense, since their actual footprint did not change. If they were serious about (or believed) this issue, they would just reduce their actual carbon footprint, basically do as I say, not as I do.

If this policy does not include cutting spending to sprawling roads and development, which continues to encourage single occupancy vehicle use and increases Vehicle Miles Traveled, it will be useless. Effective pricing models including public parking, rolling, gas taxes are a must. The revenue generated should then be immediately invested back in to infrastructure that promotes walking, cycling, and public transportation use.

This tax is a ridiculous fraud, fueled by money grubbing grifters like Gina Fraudmondo an TCI.

Just as energy prices go down and more people have money to spend, fools like yourselves invent a way to steal more money. This will not incentivize people to drive less, people still need to fill their tanks, nothing more than a money grab.

When polled consistently the majority state that the amount of regulations and goals are not worth the cost

Please understand; I understand what the TCI wants to do and why. What I don't understand is why it has to be on the backs of rural people, like here in Vermont. We need our cars and pickup trucks to grocery shop, go to work, do charitable work, basically live. We didn't ask for this to be this way, it was ordained for us by the greed of the automotive industry and the gasoline/fuel oil industry and now we are stuck with it. Granted there are more vehicles going "green" but we are not there yet. To just start with a carbon tax will not only hurt the peoples pocket book, but will eventually hurt the Vt economy too and will not help the environment one bit. NO CARBON TAX.