Connecticut lawmakers continue to propose and enact costly, ineffective policies and regulations on the state’s trucking and logistics industries —threatening jobs, raising costs for consumers, and making the state a more expensive place to live and do business. The latest misguided effort is the so-called Climate Change Superfund Act, which would impose massive financial penalties on a handful of fossil fuel producers for emissions that result from energy consumption throughout the country and across the globe. John Blair This tax, which will ultimately burden the hauling and transportation industry, comes on the heels of another misguided policy: the highway use tax, which unfairly dings the trucking industry with millions in additional annual costs. While the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut has repeatedly called on lawmakers in Hartford to repeal this tax, the legislature instead appears intent on doubling down with even more anti-business policies. The Climate Change Superfund Act claims to hold energy companies accountable for emissions. In reality, it ignores the fact that fossil fuels are an essential part of our economy and critical to a functioning modern society. Trucking companies, manufacturers, farmers, and households all rely on these fuels every day to keep Connecticut running. Punishing a small number of energy producers for the emissions generated by consumers, including the government’s own trucks, police cars, and school buses, is a legally questionable and economically reckless approach. Worse still, this policy —like the highway use tax —ultimately hurts consumers. Connecticut is already one of the most expensive places to operate a business and raise a family, and this law will only add insult to injury. Diesel prices are high, and trucking companies operate on razor-thin margins. When costs increase, businesses have no choice but to pass them down the supply chain. That means higher prices for groceries, construction materials, and nearly every other consumer good at a time when families throughout the United States are feeling the pinch––and they’re sending a message to politicians that they want lawmakers to protect their household budgets, not saddle them with new taxes. The Highway Use Fee, which imposes fees on large trucks simply for operating on Connecticut roads, was supposed to fund road maintenance and infrastructure improvements. Instead, it is straining the finances of locally owned trucking companies and further increasing the cost of doing business in the state. Now, the proposed Climate Change Superfund Act threatens to compound this burden, making it even harder for businesses to absorb rising operational costs. Connecticut families already pay some of the highest utility bills in the country, estimated at 31% higher than the national average. We should be enacting policies that make it easier for businesses and families to thrive and succeed—not punishing the industries that drive our economy. Instead of continuing down this misguided path, lawmakers should repeal the highway use tax and reject the Climate Change Superfund Act before it does untold damage to Connecticut’s economic stability. If the legislature is truly committed to environmental stewardship, it should focus on practical, market-based solutions that encourage energy innovation rather than unfairly costing the businesses that keep our state moving. The trucking industry has made great strides in improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. More government-imposed costs won’t accelerate that progress —they’ll only make it harder for companies to invest in cleaner technologies. John Blair is President of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut.   ...read more read less