Transportation Climate Initiative Program Releases Final Model Rule Only a Few States Support

Recently, the Transportation Climate Initiative Program (TCI) released a final model rule which will now head to a public comment period. Last year, the Governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island as well as the Mayor of the District of Columbia announced their intention to join the regional Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI).

The TCI is a regional compact among Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states designed to reduce the climate impact of cars and trucks in the region by driving up the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel so high that consumers and businesses will be forced to purchase new, costly electric vehicles.

TCI will add 19.6 cents per gallon to the price of gasoline in 2022 and rise steadily to 32 cents per gallon by 2032, an average increase of 26 cents per gallon over 10 years in addition to market and inflationary price increases over the same period. Moreover, the TCI program will be administered by a regional bureaucracy with little oversite or accountability to the state legislatures and the citizens who elect them.

The TCI tax on motor fuels means that goods transported by truck, rail and cargo ship will increase accordingly. These costs will be passed down to consumers as a second TCI “tax” dealing a one-two blow to hard working families and the regional economy. TCI only promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent regionwide.

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