TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

The TCI is just another tax, added to the ridiculous tax burden that we are already under. It won't help carbon emissions or clean air, it will just make life more difficult for working people. It is time for a good 10% cut across the the state goverment.

My name is Shelby Grantham. I’d like to reduce my personal carbon footprint and help reduce climate change. But I am a senior resident of Norwich, VT, living alone seven miles outside the business center of Norwich. There is no public transportation out here except the school buses, which I am not allowed to ride. I wish I didn’t have to take my car into town to get groceries and do errands.
Transportation is Vermont’s highest source of carbon emissions. As an otherwise proud citizen of Vermont, I hope the state government sees fit to join the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) that aims to develop within one year a regional policy to cap and reduce carbon emissions from transportation fuels through a cap-and-invest program that would also earn funds to help us tackle our high emissions and implement transportation solutions statewide.
Cap-and-invest programs are not new. Our Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) instituted in 2008 has reduced carbon pollution and raised funds to invest in improved weatherization that makes Vermont homes warmer and more energy efficient. With TCI, we can do the same in the transportation sector.
Across the country, cap reduction scenarios have led to environmental, health, and economic benefits. Some Vermonters may see TCI as merely a gas tax, but frankly I’m willing to pay a little more at the pumps when the outcomes are so critical and the long-term benefits so far-reaching.
Being at the table with the other TCI states will allow us to craft a VT policy that is equitable and could help us create a climate in which we can all thrive.

Maine is fueled by tourism. Maine residents and visitors must drive there vehicles to go most places. Public transportation isn't a option here. Any increase in taxes on fuel only hurts residents and visitors alike.

I highly support the developent of regional transportation initiatives that rely on clean energy sources. I routinely use the bus to travel from Maine to Boston and would use a clean transport system in preference to a polluting option even if it cost more to do so.

In this state of Mass. we have raised taxes to fix the climate dilema a few times already. Leave our personal money alone. You are forcing all of us to move to Florida, the tax free state.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Shouldn't everyone care about reducing pollution from transportation? This is the largest source of global warming emissions, both regionally and nationally. The Susquehanna Valley's air quality is below what we should expect, and FAR below what it should really be.

I hope that Pennsylvania formally joins the plan to reduce emissions and with the state government's full backing and support. It's my hope that the policy includes a strong component of equity by prioritizing clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and/or for those who don't have access. I'm grateful for the bipartisan nature of this project, and have sincere belief that this will move us forward, even while the federal government takes us backward.

Regards,
Sharon

Reducing transportation sector emissions is important to me because I'd like to leave a cleaner Earth for my grandchildren. I would like to
thank Gov. Lamont for being involved in the regional design process and request that Connecticut formally sign on to the initiative. We need the TCI leadership to choose the most aggressive greenhouse gas emissions cap since we have already lost precious time in our environmental efforts.
I'm also asking TCI policy has to include equity and investment in overburdened and under-served communities as a first and foremost priority.