TCI IS BACK BUT DISGUISED AS SOMETHING ELSE! IF PASSED, ENERGY PRICES WILL INCREASE EVEN MORE!
“This feels like a sneak attack on Connecticut by not calling it what it actually is. RB 1145 is TCI reincarnated but worse!” ~Chris Herb, President and CEO of Connecticut Energy Marketers Association (CEMA)
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- Two years after state lawmakers rejected The Transportation Climate Initiative or TCI, a new bill is bringing it back from the dead but rebranded and under a new name. TCI would have created a 4thgasoline tax in Connecticut under the guise of lowering emissions.
- TCI was abandoned by the legislature after a huge backlash from Connecticut residents who already pay some of the highest taxes in the nation!
- RB 1145 would bring TCI’s failed proposed policies back and shift power away from the Connecticut General Assembly and give it to the Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. (DEEP) Under this proposed legislation, DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes would have the power to enter into trade and tax agreements with other states and countries under the guise of lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
- UPDATE! MEETING WAS CANCELLED ON MARCH 22. It has been rescheduled for Friday, March 22 but 10 a.m./ RB 1145 will be taken up by the CGA Environment Committee in room 2B at the Legislative Office Building. It will also be streamed on YouTube CGA-Environment Committee
Cromwell, CT: Connecticut Energy Marketers Association (CEMA) is once again sounding the alarm regarding proposed state legislation that would increase the price of gasoline. Two years ago, it was called The Transportation Climate Initiative or TCI, this time around, the name has changed but the results would be the same.
“Make no mistake about it, this bill is sneaky and not transparent. After losing their bid to add a fourth gasoline tax on the hard-working people of Connecticut, some in Hartford think they’ve come up with a new way to get around it. This bill is nothing more than a move to usurp the state legislature’s authority and give power to a commissioner who is an appointed bureaucrat. DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes is not an elected official. She should not have the power to raise taxes. How is this even legal?” said Chris Herb, President and CEO of Connecticut Energy Marketers Association.
TCI reincarnated can be found in section 5(e) of bill RB 1145-AN ACT CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTOR SPECIFIC SUBTARGETS FOR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS AND REGULATING EMISSIONS OF SMALL OFF-ROAD ENGINES. The bill would allow the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to enter into agreements with other states like California and the Canadian provinces regarding programs for emissions that would increase the cost of energy. The bill would allow DEEP to implement “market-based compliance mechanisms,” which is code for cap and trade or carbon taxes. This would all be done without full legislative approval.
“Hello California! The gas prices we see in California will soon be here in Connecticut if this legislation passes! When gas prices increased due to the war in Ukraine, lawmakers and politicians were up in arms about the cost of gasoline. Make no mistake about it, RB 1145 will create a homegrown, manufactured increase on gasoline prices, and people will have to dig even deeper at the pumps,” Herb said.
This would disproportionately impact low-and-middle-income families, and seniors on fixed incomes. While supporters of the bill claim it’s not a new tax, a simple google search on “market-based compliance mechanisms” will tell you all you need to know. Cap and Trade is code for carbon taxes on gasoline and more!
“We are urging people to get involved. Contact your state legislator and tell them to reject
RB 1145,” Herb said. “Act now, while you can, or you will literally be paying for it later.”