Baker, Sununu clash over gas tax hike
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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker
Gov. Charlie Baker said he disagrees with his Republican counterpart in New Hampshire about the value of a regional pact to drive down carbon emissions.
Baker said Monday that the Transportation Climate Initiative, which has been projected to add between 5 cents and 17 cents to the price of a gallon of gas, is the "best way" for states to meet emission reduction goals. Sununu last week called TCI a "financial boondoogle" after the coalition detailed the potential impact on gas prices.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Gov. Sununu. He's been a colleague and a friend for a long time. I disagree with him on this one," Baker said Monday after a meeting with Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Robert DeLeo.
The governor did not directly answer when asked whether he would try to change Sununu's mind or convince other governors not to follow the New Hampshire governor's lead. "If they choose not to participate, that's their choice," Baker said of remaining 11 states.
He said New Hampshire accounts for just 1 percent to 2 percent of the "total value" of the original coalition.
DeLeo said Monday he was waiting on additional information about TCI from the administration before formulating an opinion, and did not say whether last week's TCI draft memo would affect his thinking on a gas tax hike and its possible inclusion in a revenue package to be rolled out early next year.
Vermont AFL-CIO President David Van Deusen last week posted on Facebook that while the union supports a "true, union based, Green New Deal," it believes it should be funded through "progressive taxation and other creative means."
"The fact is that Vermont has something worse than a piss poor public transportation system. Any scheme which seeks to price working people out of driving a gas powered vehicle (without having a comprehensive public transit system & affordable electric cars readily available first) will not result in workers driving less," Van Deusen wrote.
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