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Transportation And Climate Initiative Passes Legislative Hurdle In Connecticut

Patrick Skahill
/
Connecticut Public

A key legislative committee voted Wednesday in favor of a program that could raise hundreds of millions of dollars for environmental programs in Connecticut, but it could also have an impact at the gas pump.  

The Transportation and Climate Initiative would place a declining cap on emissions from gas and on-road diesel fuel. It requires wholesalers to purchase “allowances” to cover those emissions. And it reinvests that money into transportation projects.

Supporters say TCI will reduce on-road carbon dioxide emissions by about one-quarter while raising $1 billion by 2032.

The legislature’s environment committee voted in favor of the bill. 

Democratic committee Co-Chair Sen. Christine Cohen supports TCI and told committee members money raised would help vulnerable communities. 

“It requires that a certain percentage, at least 50 percent, be invested into communities that are overburdened by air pollution or underserved by a transportation system,” she said.

If TCI becomes law, it could raise gas prices by at least 5 cents per gallon in 2023. 

Republican ranking member Rep. Stephen Harding, who voted against the bill, characterized TCI as a “gas tax.”

“No matter how we examine it, this is going to be a tax on the consumers and our constituents,” Harding said. “We are voting today to implement a gas tax.” 

TCI still needs to pass through both the Senate and House before becoming law. It has the support of Gov. Ned Lamont.

Patrick Skahill is the assistant director of news and talk shows at Connecticut Public. He was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show and a science and environment reporter for more than eight years.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.