Massachusetts Bill Proposes Limitations on Personal Travel

Senate bill S.2246 seeks to push governmental control to a new level by placing restrictions on private travel. The legislation, currently in the Massachusetts Senate committee on Ways and Means, will have implications on the everyday use of citizen's private vehicles. It outlines a foreboding future of data collection, increased governmental agencies and spending, and travel restrictions.

The Bill will set a statewide goal to reduce vehicle miles traveled by the year 2030. Under the banner of limiting greenhouse gas emissions, this endeavor will become a permanent part of Massachusetts legislation, with a new goal set every five years. The reduced mileage target will affect the way the government interacts with transportation, especially personal vehicles.

How will this goal be reached, and how will the reduction in mileage be enforced? Bill S.2246 will form a new government entity to curtail the number of miles traveled by private vehicles. The Bill allows the council to identify and establish regulatory actions and laws as they see fit, all in service of mileage reduction. This could authorize state-enforced mileage limits, as well as penalties for extra miles traveled.   

The Bill elaborates that the council will regularly engage in data collection, including from personal vehicle traffic patterns and any companies that provide personal transportation services or products. This includes vehicle inspection services, setting the stage for the government to monitor your annual vehicle data to track and cap your mileage.

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

As part of the mileage reduction strategy, the Bill outlines plans for increased bike lanes, cheaper public transit for designated areas, and construction of walkable cities; money-draining attempts that provide no assistance to commuters from rural areas and other groups that this Bill is most likely to affect. Bill S.2246 establishes restrictions without support and control without moderation.

Introduced by Cynthia Creem (Senate majority leader), this prospective legislation is solely sponsored and cosponsored by Democrats, but this shouldn’t be a partisan issue. The Bill restricts freedom to travel and creates a dangerous precedent about how the government can collect and use your information. The framing of the Bill will allow its new government council to create legislation that restricts and penalizes any travel it deems excessive. Additionally, it subjects Transportation Programs to align with its emission limits and travel-reduction goals.

Bill S.2246 sugarcoats its intentions under the labels of emission reduction or cheap public transit, but underneath lurks the scary reality: an Orwellian control of how, when, and where you drive. A government with a rigid travel reduction target and the authority to create laws in pursuit of that goal will ruthlessly clamp down to meet its objective. A government that has gained the power to control your mileage and access to your vehicle data won’t easily relinquish it. And you, the taxpayer, will pay the price in how far you commute to work, where you want to shop or live, and how often you see your family. The entirety of your everyday life will be subject to inspection and restriction.

Next steps:

Contact your Massachusetts senator and urge them to oppose Senate Bill S.2246 (HD.3726)

“An Act aligning the commonwealth's transportation plans with its mandates and goals for reducing emissions and vehicle miles traveled”.

Find your representatives here: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator. Use your senator’s provided email or phone to contact them and make your opinion heard.

Contact the New England Conservative Coalition if you would like to be involved in further action. newenglandconservativecoa@gmail.com  (508) 379-3474