Perhaps a Second Bite at the Apple for Transportation and Climate Initiative Program

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As someone once said, it ain’t over till it’s over.  And with the legislature promising to return to the State Capitol later this month to convene a Special Session to take care of some unfinished business from the regular 2021 session that concluded on June 9, efforts are intensifying to put back on the agenda an item that didn’t make the cut in the final days.

Advocates for the Transportation and Climate Initiative, known by the shorthand TCI, are seeking a way back after the supposed sparsity of legislative votes led it to be dropped from the to-do list before even coming to a formal vote.  Among the leading advocates is Gov. Ned Lamont, who has urged Connecticut to take the lead among states in the region, only to have a surprisingly uphill battle with legislators, including members of his own party.  He now says he intends to push legislators to endorse the plan this month.

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TCI initiative is a multi-state agreement to require fuel suppliers to buy permits for the pollution that results from the fuel they sell. The plan was designed to reduce carbon emissions, in part as a result of fuel sellers passing extra costs to consumers at the pump.  According to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, “once implemented, proceeds from allowance auctions are projected to generate up to $89 million in 2023, increasing to as much as $117 million in 2032, for Connecticut to re-invest in clean transportation options and infrastructure.”  Lamont signed a Memorandum of Understanding last year with chief elected officials of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. 

Supports say that Connecticut residents support the initiative overwhelmingly, citing a poll taken last year.  Among the results:

  • 86% say it’s important to cut air pollution that causes asthma

  • 81% believe increasing clean transportation options is important

  • 86% say better public transit for low-income and communities of color is important

  • 76% say the environment is a factor in their own transportation choices

  • 80% support Governor Lamont working with other states to improve transportation

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Led mostly by environmental organizations in Connecticut, the website www.cttransporationfuture.org  explains that “The transportation sector is Connecticut’s largest source of carbon dioxide pollution, contributing over 40% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. It also contributes to poor air quality impacting our cities and towns which leads to asthma and other health problems. To meet legal mandates established in the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act, climate pollution caused by transportation must be significantly reduced over the next 8 years.”

Looking back at the history of the effort, the site explains that “TCI started as a regional initiative for 13 states and Washington, DC to craft and implement transportation policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage clean transportation. Currently, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and DC are part of TCI.”

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Gov. Lamont indicated last December that he was aimed at positioning Connecticut as among a handful of states leading the way, but the legislature would need to enact the steps he’s hoping to have the state take.  As announced six months ago, Connecticut would commit to reduce carbon emissions by at least 26% in a 10-year period from 2022 to 2032. Included in the MOU is a commitment by the TCI signatory jurisdictions to invest no less than 50 percent of their annual program proceeds to assist communities overburdened by transportation pollution and underserved by the current transportation system.

At that time, Lamont pointed out that participating in TCI would “help grow our economy through a fresh injection of capital to provide for jobs and new infrastructure. This collaboration will cut our greenhouse gas emissions, and it will make our urban centers healthier, after decades of being adversely impacted by the emissions being released by traffic every day. Connecticut has always taken pride in our leadership role when it comes to climate, and when we can combine that with a stronger economy, fast transit systems, and regional cooperation, that’s a win for all of us.”

Fast forward to the 2021 state legislature.  Citing the potential of substantial increases in gas prices, opponents’ response has been, in effect, to say, not so fast.

Organizations in the coalition seeking approval of TCI include Save the Sound, Environmental Defense Fund, Environment Connecticut, Ceres, Transport Hartford, Eastern Connecticut Green Action, Clean Water Action, Acadia Center, and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.  They’re urging state residents to contact legislative leaders to “Demand clean air, good jobs, and a modern transportation system,” and to “help get TCI over the finish line.”

The stakes, they say, are high:  “a regional action that would change our world for the better.”

Senate President Marty Looney said at week’s end: “I think it’s more likely an issue for the 2022 session unless there’s a breakthrough very suddenly.”