Gov. Baker Should Be Sweet to the Taxpayers this Valentine’s Day

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance made the following statement in response to the recent development that Virginia does not plan to sign on to the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) this year. According to TCI’s timeline, jurisdictions that wish to participate in TCI are expected to sign on to a final MOU in the Spring of this year. Virginia will not be one of them.

“Virginia is currently the southernmost state to consider TCI and as they put on the brakes, the pool of remaining states continues to shrink,” stated Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Spokesman Paul Craney.

During recent legislative hearings, Virginia Delegate Charles Poindexter got two members of Governor Ralph Northam’s (D-VA) cabinet on record stating the General Assembly will decide whether Virginia joins TCI. According to a news report by The Bacon’s Rebellion news site, Matt Strickler, the Secretary of Natural Resources “did promise that final decisions on joining TCI would be made by the legislature, presumably in 2021 (and after the administration’s traditional gas taxes are all safely approved).”

“Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karen Polito should be sweet to the taxpayers this Valentine’s Day and pull the plug on this regressive tax scheme, just like Virginia and New Hampshire,” concluded Craney.