In a March 11 opie for the Connecticut Post, Senator Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, wrote that ‘Everything proceeds from [Transportation and Climate Initiative] will be poured into the locker of the Special Transport Fund to invest in reducing emissions. ”
Similarly, Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said she believes TCI funds will be protected from legislative raids by the STF’s constitutional locker in an interview with CT Mirror.
However, these demands are not entirely accurate, based on the language of the legislation or the governor’s budget proposal.
The transportation and climate initiative requires gasoline producers and wholesalers to buy carbon credits at auction. Proceeds from the auction will be passed on to participating states to invest in green energy, climate justice and public transport.
The state expects the program to raise between $ 80 million and $ 110 million a year, but the funds will not be placed in the Special Transport Fund, according to the proposed budget of the governor and the legislative language.
TCI funds will be poured into a separate dedicated fund set up under the umbrella of the Account for Transport Grants and Limited Funds.
According to the authorization bill, TCI funds will be deposited in a transport and climate account ‘set up by the accountant as a separate, non-current account within the fund for transport allowances and restricted accounts.’
According to state statutes, the transportation allowance and restricted accounts fund contains all transportation fees that are restricted, not available for general use and that were previously offset in the Special Transportation Fund as ‘federal and other grants’. The accountant is authorized to make the necessary transfers to determine that, notwithstanding the provisions of the general laws, all transport money that is restricted and not available for general use is in the Fund for transport allowances and restricted accounts. ”
The enacting legislation – the Governors’ Bill 884 – specifically states that the proceeds from TCI auctions are “not considered a pledge income” to the STF.
The governor’s transport budget does not include TCI funds as revenue in the Special Transport Fund, but rather as a cost reduction because TCI funds would be used to supplement public transport costs.
As of 2023, Lamont’s budget shows a reduction in spending of $ 24.3 million, growing to $ 69 million by 2026. There are no changes in the listed income in the STF due to the inclusion of TCI funds.
TCI revenue will be invested by both the Department of Transport and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, with the approval of the Office of Policy and Management.
Thirty-five percent of TCI funds will be ‘invested in a way designed to ensure communities overloaded by air pollution or underserved by the transportation system’, under the advice of an equity advisory board. The share board will be composed of stakeholders elected by the commissioners of DOT and DEEP.
The legislation also provides for a maximum of 5 percent of the proceeds that will go to the state agency’s administrative costs for Connecticut to achieve its goal of reducing emissions to 80 percent less than 2001 emission levels by 2050.
Why it matters
Allegations that TCI revenue goes to the Special Transport Fund are intended to reassure the public that the money they pay at higher petrol costs is actually going towards the intended goal of lowering vehicle emissions and other climate initiatives.
Money in the Special Transport Fund is protected by the constitutional locker, which was approved by voters in 2018 and prevents the legislature from sweeping funds from the STF to close the budget gaps of the General Fund, to ensure that the money goes to roads, bridges and transport infrastructure is spent. .
However, the locker does not prevent the diversion of funds intended to go to the STF, as evidenced by the Lamont governments’ derivation of tax revenues from the STF in 2019 and 2020.
Connecticut’s long history of sweeping money from dedicated funds to bridge budget gaps is well documented and raises concerns that TCI funds could also be used for things outside of the intended purpose.
Closure
TCI revenue is not transferred to the Special Transport Fund, but into a new account. A significant portion of the revenue will be used for environmental and climate justice objectives, and the remaining funds will offset transportation costs.
Money in the STF, according to the statute, “is spent only for transportation purposes.” Since TCI revenue will not be used solely for transportation purposes, the funds will have their own account. The Connecticut Department of Transportation says the bill for transportation grants and limited funds has the same lockout protection as the STF.
However, as demonstrated in the past, the protection of the lockout of the STF may be circumvented by a future governor or legislature through the diversion of funds. The fact that the transport and climate bill will have a lockout protection also means that it is under the same loopholes.