With only nine days left in the Connecticut legislative session, Governor Ned Lamont is pushing lawmakers to approve his proposal to have the state join a multi-state Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI).
Lamont said he is optimistic that the proposal would be included in the state budget he’s negotiating with lawmakers.
“Going forward we are going to have to pass the Transportation Climate Initiative, to make sure that our major arteries do everything we can to keep them environmentally sound, do everything we can to move people to electric vehicles,” Lamont said.
The initiative puts caps on carbon emissions from gasoline, and requires gas suppliers to buy carbon credits. It would mean a five-cent increase to gas prices starting in 2023.
Republicans oppose the move, saying it's a new tax. House Republican Minority Leader Vincent Candelora said even some Democrats are opposed.
“I don’t anticipate that we will see any TCI proposal or gas taxes in this current year's budget. I think the revenue package is looking closer to what the Republicans had wanted and now we are still working on the spending side,” Candelora said.
There’s little time left for a deal on TCI before the legislative session ends on June 9.
