Last week, Representative Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) re-introduced the MARKET CHOICE Act, which seeks to implement a fee on carbon emissions. Such a fee structure would send 70 percent of the revenue to the Highway Trust Fund and eliminate the federal gas tax. The bill would do this by levying a $35 per-metric-ton tax on fossil fuels — specifically coal, oil, and gas — a charge that would begin in 2023 and increase by 5 percent every year, indexed to inflation. In addition to sending 70 percent of the revenue to the Highway Trust Fund, the measure calls for the remaining 30 percent to be distributed through a yet-to-be created trust fund at the U.S. Department of Treasury.
