CT Senate GOP Unveils Clean Air & Transportation Policy Plan

“Better Way” Alternatives to the Burdensome
California Ban on Gas-Powered Vehicles

Connecticut Senate Republicans today unveiled “A Better Way to Cleaner Air & Transportation”: a set of responsible, affordable and achievable policy proposals which, if adopted, will make Connecticut’s air cleaner without having to follow California’s extreme ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles. (Download the plan here.)

“There is a better way to achieving cleaner air, and we can do it without burdening our residents with unaffordable and unachievable mandates,” Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly said.  “We offer these policy solutions in hopes that they will be well-received by the majority.  Connecticut working and middle class families deserve better than a ban with no plan.  Here are many reasonable and achievable ideas from the Senate Republican Caucus, and we hope these good ideas will find friends. Let’s start the discussion.”

• Adopt EPA air quality standards that do not ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles. (32 other states follow the EPA standards.)
• Reduce vehicle emissions by expanding existing tax credits to all fuel efficient vehicles and encouraging flexible green workweek schedules
• Prioritize emission reduction programs by using historic federal and state investments for transportation construction projects to open congestion bottlenecks, expanding public transportation and EV charging station infrastructure and investing in roundabouts and smart traffic lights
• Make investments in the recycling stream to efficiently reduce, reuse, and recycle rather than ship waste out of state
• Invest in greenspaces, greenways and open spaces, restoring seagrasses, and increasing green spaces in urban and environmental justice communities
• Ensure that $27.7 million in revenue from current state fees related to environment initiatives are directed to support the environment instead of supporting general government spending.
• Incentivize lean energy-efficiency opportunities in industrial and manufacturing operations.
• Encourage in-state investments in carbon-free technology
• Encourage and incentivize energy efficiency through rebates, credits, and changes to building codes
• Develop a detailed strategic plan to improve the electric grid charging stations and alternative energy resources
• Put more pressure on the state’s federal delegation to push for clean energy policies in states to our west that create the pollution that damages air quality in CT