Lawmakers are running out of time to beat Perry's veto

Senate passes bill for two-year halt on new toll roads

April 28, 2007

From Staff and Wire Reports
The Brenham Banner Press
Copyright 2007

AUSTIN - The Texas Senate has passed a bill making major changes to the state's transportation policy, potentially setting up a showdown with Gov. Rick Perry over the future of private investment in toll roads.

The Senate bill, which sets a two-year moratorium on private toll road contracts, mirrors a bill already passed by the Texas House.

That bill included an amendment added by Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), also halting new toll road projects for at least two years.

The Senate version does contain some differences, meaning it will have to go to a conference committee unless the original House sponsor, Rep. Wayne Smith, concurs with the bill as it presently reads. If Smith doesn't object to the changes, it will go to the House floor for a final vote. If passed by the full House on the floor, it would be sent to the Governor for signature, veto, or become law automatically if he takes no action.

The bill could end up on Perry's desk this week.

That would give lawmakers plenty of time to override a veto by the governor, who has ardently insisted that Texas needs to continue using public-private partnerships to build toll roads if it wants to keep attracting big companies and jobs.

The bill was approved by a 27-4 vote, with most of the opponents complaining that the Legislature was moving too quickly on such an important piece of legislation.

“We are acting almost like a lynch mob,” said Sen. Steve Ogden, a Republican from Bryan. “We are not thinking about the implications of what we're doing.”

But Williams, R-The Woodlands, said lawmakers were running out of time to beat a veto. Once the governor receives a bill, he has 10 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

The Legislature can override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both chambers, but they must be in session to take that vote. The session ends May 28.

“I think there's a fundamental disagreement between the Legislature and the governor about the future of transportation policy in the state,” Williams said. “I'm trying to give us a chance to address those concerns.”


© 2007 The Brenham Banner Press: www.brenhambanner.com

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'The Last Great Hope' this session to restrict private toll road contracts passes

80TH LEGISLATURE

Toll limits clear key Senate hurdle

HB 1892, which has support in both chambers, could reach Perry's desk in time for lawmakers to override a veto.

April 28, 2007

By Ben Wear
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2007

A proposal some senators called "the last great hope" this session to restrict private toll road contracts passed the Texas Senate on Friday 27-4.

If the House quickly agrees to House Bill 1892 with the substantial changes made by the Senate, then the bill would reach Gov. Rick Perry's desk in time for the Legislature to overcome a possible veto.

The deadline for this probably would be May 14, legislators say, but HB 1892 author Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown, said he agrees with the Senate changes.

The full House will have to vote on the changed bill, but Smith said he hopes to have the bill to Perry by the end of next week.

Perry has 10 days to veto a bill if there are that many days or more left in a session when he gets it. With the Legislative session ending May 28, passage by May 14 would leave lawmakers a few days after a veto to reverse it.

The bill, originally written to give the Harris County Toll Road Authority first shot at toll roads in that area, now includes a two-year ban on private toll road contracts, with certain exceptions. For those exceptions in Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio and El Paso, the bill limits what the state might have to pay tollway operators for competing roads or to buy back a toll road should it become profitable.

The bill also shortens the maximum length of such contracts from 70 years to 40 years. And it would prevent the state or other Texas toll road agencies, during that two-year period, from handing over existing toll roads (such as Texas 130 east of Austin) to private operators.

Smith's legislation, after spending most of the session out of the limelight, in the past few days has become the vehicle of choice for legislators to strike back at the Texas Department of Transportation for aggressive toll road policies that have angered voters.

Another large bill, HB 1929, crafted by the chairmen of the House and Senate transportation committees along with representatives of Perry and the Transportation Department, had been expected to play this role. But it emerged from its first committee only Thursday and is given little chance of passage.

Dozens of smaller bills have been filed this session to roll back powers given to the Transportation Department in 2003 and 2005, tools that the agency has enthusiastically embraced.

But virtually all of those bills, if they managed to pass the Senate, have run aground in the House Transportation Committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson County.

Krusee, who was out of the country and unavailable for comment Friday, is a leading advocate of the toll road push.

"So many bills have gone into a hole in the House Transportation Committee from which no bills are escaping," said Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, Senate sponsor of HB 1892. "There's a fundamental disconnect between the Legislature and the governor on the future of transportation in this state. This bill is the last chance we have to address that."

That chance appears to have turned on a quiet decision Feb. 27 by House Speaker Tom Craddick to send HB 1892 to the House County Affairs Committee, rather than Krusee's committee. The bill was essentially Smith and Williams' attempt to intervene on the behalf of the toll road authority in a dispute it was having with the state Transportation Department.

The state agency, which would prefer to open up new Houston-area toll roads to the private sector and perhaps reap billions in upfront payments, had told Harris County that it wanted more than $1 billion for state-owned right of way.

The toll road authority, used to getting such lands from the state at no charge for its toll roads, rebelled.

The bill went April 10 to the House floor, where Krusee and others tried unsuccessfully with points of order and amendments to derail or defang it.

An amendment that did pass, however, attached the two-year toll road moratorium to the bill, which then passed with a veto-proof 123-17 vote. The Senate vote Friday is likewise comfortably above the two-thirds vote needed to override Perry.

In a statement, Perry did not say if he would use his veto power, but the statement read: "I will review this bill carefully because we cannot have public policy in this state that shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars, and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for political corruption."

The key, for many senators Friday, was the inclusion of the moratorium on private toll road contracts. The state Transportation Department has been in the vanguard of states granting long-term leases to private companies, most of them based overseas so far, to build and operate roads for 50 years or more.

In the two contracts awarded so far — only one has been signed, for the southern 40 miles of Texas 130 southeast of Austin — Spanish toll road operator Cintra and its partners had agreed to cover all engineering, right of way and construction costs and then give the state substantial sums on top of that.

In return, the partnerships would operate the roads and would keep most toll revenue until after 2060.

"I'm scared to death, and I think a lot of citizens are scared to death, that our roads are being sold out from under us," said Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, a former Texas Transportation Commission member who authored the original moratorium bill this session.

The Transportation Department contends that such contracts are the key to overcoming a huge funding shortfall for Texas roads and rail, especially given the Legislature's 16-years-and-counting disinclination to raise the state's 20-cents-a-gallon gas tax.

But legislators, responding they say to intense pressure from constituents during last year's election, have said they worry that profits from toll roads that might have gone to building more Texas roads would instead go to corporate stockholders. That those companies are foreign has stoked that concern.

The few senators who spoke out against HB 1892 Friday, aside from complaining about such complex legislation being heavily amended on the fly, highlighted an emerging concern among at least some rural legislators.

They fret that big Texas cities, as HB 1892 dictates, would keep huge sums of toll road profits (or payments from private companies) to spend on urban and suburban highways, while leaving rural areas with only diminishing returns from the gas tax.

"There are a lot of rural (legislators), who represent a lot of highway miles in this state, that worry about this bill's effect on their constituents," said Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, one of the four senators who opposed the bill.

bwear@statesman.com; 445-3698

© 2007 Austin American-Statesman: www.statesman.com

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Rep. Wayne Smith: "You've seen the numbers in the House. You've seen the numbers in the Senate. It's apparently what the citizens of Texas want."

Perry threatens to veto toll road bill

April 28, 2007

By JAKE BATSELL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2007

The Senate handily approved a House bill Friday that would put a two-year hiatus on private toll-road contracts, but Gov. Rick Perry all but assured a veto.

Efforts to slow private toll-road deals had been brewing in both chambers for weeks, but Friday's vote created a unified bill.

The fast-intensifying debate over the state's toll-road policies could reach its peak next month with a rare veto-override vote.

As with previous versions of the bill, senators agreed to exempt most major toll-road projects in North Texas from the freeze.

Local lawmakers have argued that the Dallas-Fort Worth region can't afford a delay in relieving traffic congestion.

Critics charge that the state's 50-year deals with private companies to build and oversee certain toll roads equates to selling public highways to the highest bidder.

A two-year freeze allows time for "a serious look at these projects to make sure they actually work and benefit all Texans," Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Friday in a prepared statement.But Mr. Perry, who has pushed to privatize state highways, threatened in a statement to veto the measure, which could land on his desk as soon as next week.

"We cannot have public policy in this state that shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars, and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for political corruption," he said.

Once the bill reaches the governor's desk, he has 10 days to consider a veto.

The Legislature can override with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

The bill's author, Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown, said Friday that he expects the House to forward the bill to Mr. Perry sometime next week.

Mr. Smith said the two-year moratorium has overwhelming support in both chambers.

Earlier this month, the House approved the bill, 137-2.

"You've seen the numbers in the House," Mr. Smith said.

"You've seen the numbers in the Senate. It's apparently what the citizens of Texas want."

Senators voted, 27-4, on Friday to approve the House bill, adding several provisions from a comprehensive transportation bill approved by Senate committee members a day earlier.

Those provisions limit private toll deals to 40 years, establish a formula for the state to buy back roads and limit clauses that restrict new roads that compete with a toll road.

jbatsell@dallasnews.com


© 2007 The Dallas Morning News Co www.dallasnews.com

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TxDOT is called "a renegade runaway agency that is out of control."

Bumpy ride for tollway plans

4/28/07

By AMAN BATHEJA
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2007

AUSTIN -- The Texas Senate passed its second bill this session creating a two-year moratorium on privately funded toll roads Friday, a sharp rebuke of Gov. Rick Perry's plan to solve the state's transportation problems.

Senators voted 27-4 to approve the bill, which would prevent the creation of toll roads made by public entities contracting with private companies.

The Senate passed a similar bill earlier, but that version appears dead in the House. The version approved Friday easily passed the House this month by a vote of 137-2.

The bill's Senate sponsor, Republican Tommy Williams of The Woodlands, said he hopes to send the bill back to the House as quickly as possible so that any differences can be reconciled by next week. The clock is ticking because if Perry vetoes the measure late in the session, lawmakers will have adjourned before having an opportunity at an override.

A two-thirds majority in both chambers would be needed to override a veto.

"I'm not spoiling for that fight," Williams said during the floor debate. "[But] I think there's a fundamental disagreement between the governor and the Legislature over the future of transportation in this state."

Perry, in an e-mailed statement, derided the bill as hypocritical for exempting current private toll roads.

"I will review this bill carefully because we cannot have public policy in this state that shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars, and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for political corruption," Perry said.

Not a single senator voiced opposition to the general idea of a two-year moratorium on private toll roads, signifying how far support has eroded for Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor plan.

Little support remains in the Legislature for arrangements that could allow a Spanish company to build and operate toll roads in parts of Texas for up to 50 years and significantly raise toll rates -- the centerpiece of Perry's proposal.

The bill drew more than an hour of debate as a handful of senators expressed concern that it didn't go far enough in certain areas, including giving too much freedom to Harris and several other counties to ignore the moratorium.

"We are acting almost like a lynch mob and we are not thinking about the implications of what we are doing. So what I would ask you to do today is not vote on this bill and then take the time to do it right," said state Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, who eventually voted against the bill.

Supporters stressed that Friday's vote was the last chance for lawmakers to pass any kind of a moratorium on toll roads if they wanted to have time to override a potential veto.

Perry will have 10 days from receiving the bill to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

In keeping with other toll road bills passed this session, exceptions were made for various projects under way in Dallas-Fort Worth, largely because of aggressive lobbying by North Texas lawmakers who said those projects are too far along and are vital to relieving congestion.

"We're in gridlock on those current highways," Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, told the Senate.

For the projects that are given exceptions in the bill, lawmakers approved limiting the maximum length of a private toll road contract to 40 years, down from 70 years under current law, and blocked most "noncompete" clauses a tollway operator can include in a contract.

Perry has not yet said whether he will veto this bill or one passed earlier in the week by both chambers that would overturn his executive order requiring girls across the state to receive a new vaccine that would protect against most cases of cervical cancer.

That bill also has a good chance of being immune to a veto from Perry because of strong support in the Legislature.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he believes that privately financed toll roads will play an important role in Texas' transportation initiatives but that lawmakers should pursue such plans cautiously.

"By enacting a reasonable two-year moratorium on privately financed toll projects, while excluding projects currently on the drawing board, the people of Texas and their elected representatives can take a serious look at these projects to make sure they actually work and benefit all Texans," Dewhurst said in an e-mailed statement.

Several senators identified the concerns over Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor plan as the No. 1 issue of the last election cycle.

Voters and lawmakers are "scared to death that our roadways are being sold out from under us," said Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, conceded that the bill was "not perfect" but heartily endorsed it as a good approach to a complicated issue.

He said the public will be happy to see lawmakers weakening the authority of the Texas Department of Transportation, which he described as "a renegade runaway agency that is out of control."

Staff writer John Moritz contributed to this report.

Local projects to proceed

A two-year moratorium on privately funded toll roads that passed the Senate on Friday would exempt projects under way in North Texas. Local lawmakers were careful to carve out the exemptions to ensure that current plans to meet the growing congestion problems in the area can go forward.

Aman Batheja, 817-390-7695 abatheja@star-telegram.com

© 2007 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.star-telegram.com

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Sen. Nichols: "Texans must decide if roads should be built for the benefit of taxpayers or private shareholders."

Texas Legislature

Battle lines drawn over toll road ban

April 28, 2007

By GARY SCHARRER
Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
Copyright 2007

AUSTIN — A strong Senate vote Friday likely will force a showdown between Texas lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry over toll roads and transportation issues.

The state Senate voted 27-4 on a transportation bill that includes a two-year moratorium, opposed by Perry, on private company toll roads and other highway-building restrictions, which could trigger his veto.

If so, lawmakers are ready to try to override his veto in a power battle not seen since 1990, when the Legislature failed to override a Gov. Bill Clements veto of a school finance bill.

"Unfortunately, there is a fundamental disagreement between the Legislature and the governor about the future transportation policy of our state," Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, said. "This bill is the last chance we have to address that."

Once the House passes the Senate's bill, which is expected early next week, Perry said he would look at it but added that he opposes any effort that "shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for political corruption."

"The Legislature claims Texas needs a moratorium on private financing of toll roads, yet seeks to exempt every privately planned toll road on the drawing board from their moratorium," Perry said. "The Legislature states that we need to pause and reconsider public-private partnerships to build roads, yet expands this concept by granting this exact same authority to local toll road authorities all over the state."

Several transportation bills are pending, but this one would give county and regional tollway authorities more road-building authority and would require the Texas Department of Transportation to provide state-owned right-of-way to the public tollway authorities and free access to state highways.

It also would reduce private company toll road contract lengths from 70 years to 40, ease some of the restrictions in those contracts and provide more information about the Trans-Texas Corridor project.

Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown, author of the House version, said he would accept changes to his bill. Smith wants to send the bill to Perry next week, giving lawmakers time to try to override a veto before the Legislature adjourns May 28.

Both Smith and Williams expressed hope Perry would not veto the bill.

"Obviously, it's a very popular piece of legislation from the Legislature that will be going over there," Smith said.

Only two of 150 House members voted against it and only four of 31 senators. The dissenting senators said they support the moratorium on private company toll roads but balked at changing state transportation policy by giving more power to local groups such as the Harris County Toll Road Authority.

"I always worry about emotional responses to big issues like transportation," Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, said.

"We are acting almost like a lynch mob, and we are not thinking about the implications of what we are doing," Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, warned.

But most legislators have soured on the state's transportation department and Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor plan that relies heavily on private company toll roads and long-term contracts involving hundreds of billions of dollars in profit for those companies.

"Texans must decide if roads should be built for the benefit of taxpayers or private shareholders," said Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, a former state transportation commissioner and the main architect for the moratorium.

"This is a major victory in our efforts to protect Texans from private toll road deals that would hamstring our transportation system for the next half-century," Nichols said. "A two-year moratorium will give an appropriate cooling-down time to evaluate the terms of these contracts before they cost Texans billions in penalties."

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, called the state Department of Transportation "a renegade, runaway agency" whose actions have outraged Texans.

gscharrer@express-news.net

NOT VERY OFTEN

It's rare for the Legislature to muster the two-thirds majority vote in each chamber to override a veto.

• It happened last in 1979 on a bill allowing Comal County to block hunting and fishing regulations.

• Records show Gov. W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel and Texas lawmakers collided often during the 1941 legislative session, with lawmakers overriding 10 of the governor's vetoes.

© 2007 Houston Chronicle: www.chron.com

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CorridorWatch: "To veto this bill would be the grandest act of arrogance imaginable."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

CDA Moratorium Bill (HB1892) has PASSED in the Full Senate 27 to 4

The next stop for HB1892 is the House.

April 27, 2007

CorridorWatch
Copyright 2007

HB1892 has been passed with the addition of more restrictions, tighter controls and oversight on Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDA); increased public access and notice; and, the creation of rural and corridor planning organizations.

CorridorWatch applauds the Senate's effort to provide Texas with greater protection from bad CDA deals, increased public disclosure, and more opportunities for public input in the process. These are the very issues that CorridorWatch co-founders David and Linda Stall testified on last Wednesday before the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee.

Krusee-FHWA hand grenade a dud.

CorridorWatch was first to report House Transportation Chairman Krusee had requested an opinion from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) specifically on HB1892. The resulting threat letter from FHWA through TxDOT appears to contain more pro private CDA rhetoric than legal substance.

CorridorWatch is offended by the overt attempt of a federal agency to exercise questionable influence over the state legislative process. It appears that it is their intent to dictate state policy.

Floor amendments adopted today fully resolve any potential issues, if they ever really existed. The grenade fizzled.

Representative Wayne Smith now controls the bill.

HB1892 is the much expanded offering of Representative Wayne Smith. Since it is his bill, he controls where the bill goes from here. If Rep. Smith objects to the bill as it has returned from the Senate, it will be sent to Conference Committee where it could be delayed or drastically altered. However, if Rep. Smith concurs with the bill as it presently reads, it will go to the House floor for a final vote. If passed by the full House on the floor, it would be sent to the Governor for signature, veto, or become law automatically if he takes no action.

The Texas Senate sends a very strong message to the Governor, Texas Transportation Commission, and the Texas Department of Transportation.

The collective voice of the Senate has said enough is enough. TxDOT is pushing too hard, pushing too far, and too fast. If the Transportation Commission won't rein in TxDOT it is becoming very clear that the Legislature will.

David Stall of CorridorWatch says, "this is the price the Commission and TxDOT will pay for creating a culture of arrogance and flaunting the will of the people and the legislature."

The House can join the Senate and amplify the message, making it louder and crystal clear.

We trust that Rep. Smith will concur and put the bill to a quick vote. Doing so will ensure that enough time remains to overcome a veto should the Governor take that action.

"To veto this bill would be the grandest act of arrogance imaginable. This is not an obscure or misunderstood piece of legislation. Tens of thousands of Texans know exactly what this bill is about and they want it passed. The Governor should take pause and respect the will of the people," said Stall

Another Call To Action.

CorridorWatch will encourage its members to contact their State Representatives to ensure continued strong support for HB1892. According to Stall, "There have been a lot changes to this bill and our Representatives need to know that the moratorium bill they sent to the Senate has returned with several new protections and deserves even more vigorous support."

Transportation Reformation Act (SB1929) Passes Senate Committee

Subjected to another handful of amendments, SB1929 was finally passed out of committee.

After having been left in committee overnight this bill was taken up by the Committee at the Chairman's desk on the floor Thursday. With several amendments that amount to not much more than minor corrections and adjustments SB1929 was passed. Senator Nichols cast the only no vote.

Now the bill will land in the House Transportation Committee where is will likely get the cold shoulder from Chairman Krusee.

Fortunately, those provisions of the bill that would most significantly address concerns and issues related to the Trans Texas Corridor have already been attached to HB1829 and will therefore bypass the House Transportation Committee.


© 2007 CorridorWatch.org: www.corridorwatch.org

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To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"A supermajority said 'no' to TxDOT's arrogance and... has just placed... a rogue agency in a box."

Senate votes overwhelmingly to stall private toll roads

04/27/2007

Gary Scharrer
Austin bureau
San Antonio Express-News
Copyright 2007

AUSTIN — A strong Senate vote Friday likely will force a showdown between Texas lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry over toll roads and transportation issues.

The state Senate voted 27-4 on a transportation bill that includes a two-year moratorium on private company toll roads and other highway-building restrictions that Perry opposes, which could trigger his veto.

If so, lawmakers are ready to try to override his veto in a power battle not seen in the state Capitol since 1990 when the Legislature narrowly failed to override a Gov. Bill Clements veto of a school finance bill.

"Unfortunately, there is a fundamental disagreement between the Legislature and the governor about the future transportation policy of our state," said Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands. "This bill is the last chance we have to address that."

Once the House passes the Senate's bill, which is expected to happen early next week, Perry said he will look at it but added that he opposes any effort that "shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars, and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for political corruption."

"The Legislature claims Texas needs a moratorium on private financing of toll roads, yet seeks to exempt every privately planned toll road on the drawing board from their moratorium," Perry said. "The Legislature states that we need to pause and reconsider public private partnerships to build roads, yet expands this concept by granting this exact same authority to local toll road authorities all over the state."

Several transportation bills are pending, but this one would give county and regional toll way authorities more road-building authority and would require the Texas Department of Transportation to provide state-owned right of way to the public tollway authorities and free access to state highways.

It also would reduce private company toll road contracts from 70 to 40 years, ease some of the restrictions in those contracts and give the public more access to information about the Trans-Texas Corridor project.

Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown, author of the House version, said he would accept changes to his bill. Smith wants to send the bill to Perry next week, giving lawmakers time to try to override a veto before the Legislature adjourns May 28.

Both Smith and Williams expressed hope Perry would not veto the bill.

"Obviously, it's a very popular piece of legislation from the Legislature that will be going over there," Smith said.

The dissenting senators said they support the moratorium on private company toll roads but balked at changing state transportation policy by giving more power to local groups such as the Harris County Toll Road Authority.

"We are acting almost like a lynch mob, and we are not thinking about the implications of what we are doing," Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, warned.

But most legislators have soured on the state's transportation department and Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor plan that relies heavily on private company toll roads and long-term contracts involving hundreds of billions of dollars in profit for those companies.

Terri Hall of San Antonio, founder and director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, called the Senate vote a clear and powerful message to Perry.

"A supermajority said 'no' to TxDOT's arrogance and power plays and has just placed what the public considers a rogue agency in a box," she said. "The governor would be wise not to try and let them back out with a veto, since it's clear it'll be overturned."

It's rare for the Legislature to muster the two-thirds majority vote in each chamber necessary to override a veto. That last time it happened was in 1979 on a bill allowing Comal County to block hunting and fishing regulations.

gscharrer@express-news.net

© 2007 San Antonio Express-News: www.mysanantonio.com

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"There was great concern expressed by the public ... about the proliferation of highly lucrative toll road deals and the long terms."

Texas stops private toll roads for 2 years

Apr 27, 2007

By Joan Gralla
Reuters
Copyrigh t2007

NEW YORK - The Texas Legislature on Friday approved a two-year moratorium on privatizing toll roads after a public outcry over whether private companies are reaping overly generous profits from some recent deals.

Fast-growing Texas has the biggest U.S. privatization program and credit analysts say its decision to slow down might prompt other states to proceed more cautiously, if at all.

"There was great concern expressed by the public ... about the proliferation of highly lucrative toll road deals and the long terms," Steven Polunsky, an aide to Republican state Sen. John Carona of Dallas, told Reuters by telephone.

Texas' new bill also lets local agencies compete for these multibillion-dollar deals, the aide said.

Any new deals were limited to 40 years instead of the 100-year period sought by the Texas Department of Transportation, Polunsky said. Other measures will make any new deals' terms more transparent, he added.

A spokesman for Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who opposes the moratorium, was not available to say whether he will veto it or offer further details about his statement.

Saying it failed to "address the serious concerns raised by the Federal Highway Administration earlier this week," he added:

"I will review this bill carefully because we cannot have public policy in this state that shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for corruption."

Polunsky said the bill was approved by a veto-proof majority.

LEASING NOT YET THE NORM HERE

Though road privatization's are common in Europe and Latin America, they have not gained much traction yet in the United States.

Two years ago, Chicago got $1.83 billion for leasing its Skyway commuter bridge, which caught the attention of cities and states around the nation as well as investment banks eager to earn rich underwriting fees.

But fiscal monitors have criticized Chicago's deal with MIG, run by Australian bank Macquarie Bank Ltd. and Cintra, part of Spain's Ferrovial. The 99-year pact failed to give taxpayers the extra toll revenue the companies can get, according to Fitch Ratings.

The Texas moratorium follows Perry's selection of Cintra in February for a $5 billion deal to overhaul State Highway 121, which runs through the road-hungry Fort Worth-Dallas area.

Lawmakers questioned the deal's 50-year term, non-compete clauses and other aspects. The local North Texas Tollway Authority said it could pay the state $2.3 billion in lease payments -- much more than the $700 million Cintra will pay.

The authority later got the go-ahead to draft a competing proposal.

The Texas bill will not affect some projects, in Harris and Tarrant Counties, for example, which say they are starved for transportation dollars, Polunsky said. Other projects in San Antonio and El Paso also will not be affected, he added.

© 2007 Reuters: www.reuters.com

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"There is so much money to be made... that there is .... a real potential for malfeasance, for theft, for violations of fiduciary responsibility."

Texas Senate OKs bill limiting toll road contracts

April 27, 2007

By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON
Associated Press
Copyright 2007

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate passed a bill making major changes to the state's transportation policy today, potentially setting up a showdown with Gov. Rick Perry over the future of private investment in toll roads.

One of the most attention-grabbing aspects of Sen. Tommy Williams' bill is a two-year moratorium on contracts that allow private companies to operate toll roads and collect revenue from them.

The Senate already has passed a moratorium bill, but it is languishing in a House committee. The bill approved today already was approved by the full House. If that chamber accepts the Senate's changes, as the House sponsor said he will suggest, the bill could end up on Perry's desk next week.

That would give lawmakers plenty of time to override a veto by the governor, who has ardently insisted that Texas needs to continue using public-private partnerships to build toll roads if it wants to keep attracting big companies and jobs.

In a sharply worded statement, Perry said he will carefully review the bill.

"We cannot have public policy in this state that shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars, and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for political corruption," he said.

The bill deals with "comprehensive development agreements," a relatively new tool meant to let the Texas Department of Transportation complete road-building projects more quickly and cheaply by using a single contract for both the design and construction tasks.

Those agreements have attracted the attention of multinational consortiums willing to pay large sums up front for the right to operate roads and pocket the tolls for decades to come.

That has outraged residents and lawmakers who say drivers will become hostages to the private companies, forced to pay increasingly hefty tolls.

"The concern is whether or not ... we're going to have an opportunity if those contracts are bad to fix it in our lifetime or our children's lifetime, and I'm concerned we will not," said Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville.

The moratorium includes exceptions for a few projects across the state. Those exempted projects would be subject to scrutiny by the attorney general's office, the state auditor's office and the Legislative Budget Board.

The proposal also tightens controls on the comprehensive development agreements, reducing their maximum duration from 70 years to 40 years and allowing the state to buy back a project.

Additionally, the legislation gives local authorities more power over toll projects in their areas.

Toll road foes applauded the bill's passage and urged the governor not to veto it.

"We don't want to pay what amounts to extortion money through oppressively high tolls in the hands of foreign companies just to go to work," Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom founder Terri Hall said in a statement.

The bill was approved by a 27-4 vote, with most of the opponents complaining that the Legislature was moving too quickly on such an important piece of legislation.

"We are acting almost like a lynch mob," said Sen. Steve Ogden. "We are not thinking about the implications of what we're doing."

Ogden, a Republican from Bryan, said the proposal didn't include protections to ensure local governments act responsibly in toll road deals.

"There is so much money to be made by selling our roads to the private sector that there is almost inevitably a real potential for malfeasance, for theft, for violations of fiduciary responsibility," he said.

But Williams, R-The Woodlands, said lawmakers had to move the bill forward immediately because they were running out of time to beat a veto. Once the governor receives a bill, he has 10 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

The Legislature can override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both chambers, but they must be in session to take that vote. The session ends May 28.

"I think there's a fundamental disagreement between the Legislature and the governor about the future of transportation policy in the state," Williams said. "I'm trying to give us a chance to address those concerns."

Veto overrides are rare. The last one occurred in 1979.

The transportation bill is HB1892.

© 2007 The Associated Press: www.ap.org

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Texas legislature attempts to launch another massive transportation bill...

Panel OKs curbs on toll-road deals

Senate bill also trims agency powers, boosts regional authority

April 27, 2007

By JAKE BATSELL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2007

A Senate panel approved a comprehensive transportation bill Thursday that would trim the powers of the Texas Department of Transportation, especially when it comes to private toll-road deals.

The Transportation Reformation Act, which now goes to the full Senate, would step up legislative oversight of controversial private toll-road contracts. Critics charge that the state's recent agreements to privatize certain toll roads for 50 years amount to selling public roads to the highest bidder.

Among other provisions, the massive bill would limit private toll deals to 40 years and would establish a process for the state to buy roads back if a contract is terminated. It also contains a two-year moratorium on private toll contracts, which the House and Senate already have approved in separate bills while exempting most North Texas projects.

The bill also grants regional authorities increased power over toll projects in their areas. However, legislative staffers yanked a provision in the original bill that would have allowed the Transportation Department to transfer road-developing powers to the state's 24 metropolitan planning organizations. That provision, several senators said last week, ran the risk of creating 24 "mini-TxDOTs."

The bill's author, Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, said that with a month to go in the legislative session, full passage won't be easy but is still possible.

"It certainly has enough time to pass," said Mr. Carona, who leads the Senate transportation committee. "The question won't be whether we have time; it will be whether there is the will to pass it."

Meanwhile, the Federal Highway Administration sent state transportation officials a letter this week saying that legislation curbing the Transportation Department's authority could affect Texas' eligibility for federal highway funds.

"We must be able to look to the state transportation department as the entity ultimately responsible to us for complying with all of the federal requirements," wrote James D. Ray, the agency's chief counsel.

Staff writers Christy Hoppe and Terrence Stutz in Austin contributed to this report.

jbatsell@dallasnews.com

© 2007 The Dallas Morning News Co www.dallasnews.com

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Dewhurst: "We must ensure that these projects are designed and financed in the best interest of taxpayers and drivers.”

Senate Approves Bill That Includes Moratorium On Private Toll Road Contracts

April 27, 2007

KWTX
Copyright 2007

The Texas Senate passed a bill Friday making major changes to the state's transportation policy.

The bill potentially sets up a showdown with Gov. Rick Perry over the future of private investment in toll roads.

One of the most attention-grabbing aspects of Senator Tommy Williams' bill is a two-year moratorium on private toll road contracts, which would at least temporarily put the brakes on the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor project.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst praised the legislation.

"I believe privately financed road projects play an essential role in our transportation future. But we must ensure that these projects are designed and financed in the best interest of taxpayers and drivers,” he said.

“By enacting a reasonable two-year moratorium on privately financed toll projects, while excluding projects currently on the drawing board, the people of Texas and their elected representatives can take a serious look at these projects to make sure they actually work and benefit all Texans,” he said.

The bill approved Friday has already won approval in the House.

If that chamber accepts the Senate's changes, the bill could end up on Perry's desk next week.

That would give lawmakers plenty of time to override a veto by the governor.

Perry has ardently insisted that Texas needs to continue using public-private partnerships to build toll roads if it wants to keep attracting big companies and jobs.

The bill was approved by a 27-4 vote, with most of the opponents complaining that the Legislature was moving too quickly on such an important piece of legislation.

But Williams says lawmakers were running out of time to beat a veto.

Once the governor receives a bill, he has 10 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

The Legislature can override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both chambers, but they must be in session to take that vote.

The session ends May 28.

Perry’s office released a statement Friday evening in which Perry says, “The legislature claims Texas needs a moratorium on private financing of toll roads, yet seeks to exempt every privately planned toll road on the drawing board from their moratorium.

“The legislature states that we need to pause and reconsider public private partnerships to build roads, yet expand this concept by granting this exact same authority to local toll road authorities all over the state.

“This bill appears to do little to address the serious concerns raised by the Federal Highway Administration earlier this week. Instead, it jeopardizes billions of dollars in federal funding for Texas and clean air compliance in Houston. Both consequences would be devastating for the Texas economy.

“I will review this bill carefully because we cannot have public policy in this state that shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars, and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for political corruption,” the statement said.

The transportation bill is HB1892.

© 2007 Gray Television Group, Inc. : www.kwtx.com

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"This bill brings Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor project to a standstill."

Senate Votes To Stop Private Toll Roads

April 27, 2007

KXAN NBC
Copyright 2007

Lawmakers voted Friday to stop private toll road construction for two years, because they believe the Gov. Rick Perry will veto the bill.

If he does, the Legislature can override his veto with a two-thirds vote, but they've got to be in session to do it.

House Bill 1892 would put a stop to privately financed toll roads for two years and block the selling of Texas roads to private, and often foreign, companies.

"I was sent here by my constitutents to do what they wanted, and I intend to do that," said Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown. "I don't know how the governor will be, and that's up to the governor."

Like rush hour traffic, this bill brings Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor project to a standstill.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously.

Lawmakers voiced concerns about competition penalties that would hurt the state; a private company's ability to raise toll rates whenever; little, if any, local input; and too much financial risk if the state had to buy back a stretch of roadway.

"You drive a certain section, then you have to pay again once you cross another section, you know, that's just ridiculous," said Austin driver Fernando Reyna.

Reyna, a commercial driver who moves equipment, uses the toll roads when he's working.

He likes the convenience, but when he's not on the job...

"As far as driving on it with my personal vehicle, I don't see the point," Reyna said.

"We cannot have public policy in this state that shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for political corruption," Perry said.

There has not been an override of a governor's veto in Texas since 1979.

© 2007 WorldNow and KXAN: www.kxan.com

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Texas tollers again resort to strong-arm tactics to thwart moratorium.

Feds threaten Texas over superhighway funds plan

Transportation Department opposes bills delaying NAFTA project

April 27, 2007

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

The Federal Highway Administration has threatened Texas with the loss of federal highway funds if the state continues with its legislative plan for a two-year funding moratorium on construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor.

In the 4-page letter, FHWA Chief Counsel James D. Ray advises Michael Behrens, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, some of the pending legislative proposals, if signed into law, "could affect the State’s eligibility for receiving Federal-aid highway funds."

Ray praises Texas for being "the nation's leader in developing new transportation facilities through public private partnerships."

But the letter expresses concern that the Texas Legislature is nearing passage of a two-year moratorium blocking planned Trans-Texas Corridor toll-road projects.

"We do not see the benefit of a moratorium if the State has already committed to legislation for a continuation of the program," Ray wrote, adding, "If Texas looses (sic) the initiative it now has, private funds now flowing to Texas will go elsewhere."

"We stand ready to work with Texas officials to ensure continued compliance with all of the applicable Federal laws and regulations. We wish to make sure that Texas can continue to receive the full benefits available under the Federal-aid Highway Program," he concluded.

David Stall, co-founder of the website CorridorWatch.org, alerted WND the federal agency was preparing the letter.

During a Wednesday morning teleconference, James Ray, chief counsel and acting deputy director of the FHWA, reportedly told the Trans-Texas Corridor Citizens Advisory Committee that the federal agency was preparing a letter to place the Texas Department of Transportation on notice that the proposed action by the Texas Legislature would jeopardize access to federal highway funds.

The Trans-Texas Corridor Citizens Advisory Committee is a group of citizens organized by the state transportation department to offer advice on projects concerning the Trans-Texas Corridor.

The federal agency did not respond to WND requests for comment, but Stall had an opinion.

"As you might guess, we greatly object to federal interference in state affairs and the attempt to influence public policy at the state level," Stall told WND via e-mail.

Stall told WND that Ray's letter was prompted by a request from Texas Rep. Mike Krusee, Williamson County, who sent a note to the FHWA asking for an opinion specifically on HB1892, the House version of the moratorium.

Krusee, a Republican, is a long-time supporter of the TTC toll-road project. In November 2006, he was re-elected with barely 50 percent of the vote in a campaign in which his TTC support was contested.

WND has reported previously that two different bills have passed the Texas House and Senate, and both are aimed at imposing a two-year moratorium on all public-private partnerships that would involve construction of new toll roads financed and operated by private foreign investment groups.

The large margins by which the moratorium bills have been approved suggest the legislature has the votes to override an anticipated veto by Gov. Rick Perry.

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com Inc.: www.wnd.com

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Mexican firm IDEAL and Maquarie team up to purchase 'pre owned' toll roads south of the border

Slim's Ideal, Macquarie to Bid for Mexican Toll Roads

4/27/07

By Adriana Arai
Bloomberg
Co[pyright 2007

Billionaire Carlos Slim's Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en America Latina SA and Macquarie Infrastructure Group teamed up to bid for a package of four Mexican toll roads worth at least $2.3 billion.

The four highways cover 558 kilometers (336 miles), Slim's Mexico City-based Ideal said in its quarterly earnings statement. Sydney-based Macquarie Infrastructure has interests in 11 toll roads in Australia, Europe and North America.

Slim, the world's second-richest man, would add the toll roads in central Mexico to five already run by Ideal in the nation as he increases bets on highways. Macquarie, with the U.K.'s M6 and the Indiana Toll Road in its portfolio, is focusing on expansion outside Australia after spinning off highways in Sydney last year.

"These roads are very attractive because they're ready and have a track record,'' said Edgar Amador, strategy director for Dexia SA's unit in Mexico, which is also interested in participating in the bidding. "It's like privatizing a profitable company.''

Mexico's government is seeking to resell $25 billion of highways after taking them over from private companies that had no money to maintain the projects following a currency crisis in December 1994. Toll roads are luring investors such as Macquarie and Ideal for their predictable cash flows and growth potential.

The Mexican federal government plans to divest the highways over the next six years. The first package is worth at least 25 billion pesos ($2.3 billion), according to the International Finance Corporation.

Roads and Dams

Ideal has a 60 percent stake in the partnership with Macquarie, said Ideal project director Adrian Pandal on a conference call with analysts today.

"There's a lot of competition but we think we're in a good position'' to win the toll road contracts, Pandal said.

Slim created Ideal in 2005 to make money from roads, dams and construction after amassing a fortune of more than $50 billion from telecommunications and banking. His fortune makes him the world's second-richest man behind Microsoft Corp's Bill Gates, according to the Forbes list of billionaires.

Macquarie Infrastructure reported a 76 percent jump in profit for the first half ended Dec. 31 to A$1.4 billion, boosted by revenue from its U.S. road assets.

Ideal yesterday reported a 71 percent decline in first- quarter profit to 129.7 million pesos. Revenue rose 19 percent to 592.7 million pesos as toll income surged 30 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adriana Arai in Mexico City at aarai1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 27, 2007 10:28 EDT

© 2007 Bloomberg: www.bloomberg.com

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Senate plans to vote on HB1892 and send it back to the House.

Special Update

CDA Moratorium Bill (HB1892) Appears on Senate Intent Calendar

April 26, 2007

CorridorWatch.org
Copyright 2007

HB1892 is really on the way to a vote by the full Senate, maybe as early as Friday!

Yes, it is true, the Senate plans to vote on HB1892 and send it back to the House.

After spending all day at the Capitol representing CorridorWatch, David Stall and Linda Stall have a pretty solid feeling that the Senate will quickly send the moratorium bill back to the House. As tangible evidence, HB1892 appeared on the Intent Calendar posted today for tomorrow, Friday.

April 27 will be the first Friday that the Senate has convened this session. The Intent Calendar posted today includes seventy-six bills, the last one on the list is HB1892.

Stay tuned . . Friday could be a really Big Day!

Transportation Reformation Act (SB1929) Was Back Before Senate Committee Again Wednesday

Overhauled once again, SB1929 was the topic of much continued discussion.

Another committee substitution and a host of amendments helped SB1929 grow to more than 130 pages.

CorridorWatch co-founders David and Linda Stall testified on various positive elements of the bill such as those that create limits on CDA projects not subject to the moratorium, increase transparency and public disclosure, and provide for greater rural representation.

Interestingly, having been summoned, none of the Transportation Commissioners or TxDOT resource witnesses were ever called to testify before the committee.

Just when many thought the Senate's big transportation bill was going to move forward it stalled and was left pending in committee.

© 2007 CorridorWatch.org: www.corridorwatch.org

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The One-Man Bandwagon

Postcards from the Lege

An army of one

April 26, 2007

By Ben Wear
Austn American-Statesman
Copyright 2007

The toll road issue has offered a counterpoint to the Capitol tradition of calling a press conference and then attempting to outnumber the press corps with lawmakers, civilian victims and others standing shoulder-to-shoulder up at the podium.

First, state Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, the Senate Transportation Committee chairman, called in the media a few weeks ago to argue for indexing the state gas tax to inflation. It was just him and some posterboard graphics up there, which was noted in this blog and then by Gov. Rick Perry (no fan of indexing, at least so far) the next day. Of course, the governor didn’t have any legislators standing by him, either, as he argued against a private toll road moratorium, just U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters.

Give him credit for quality (in terms of official heft) if not quantity.

Today, it was Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business. Hammond was likewise inveighing against the various forms of the private toll road ban sitting in bills around the Capitol. Hammond, although he was granted use of the governor’s press conference room, had no one from the governor’s office standing with him. Or anyone from anywhere.

“We can place a moratorium on growth,” Hammond said. “Merely the threat of a moratorium has a chilling effect on the capital markets.”

Private toll roads have a chilling effect on state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, creator of the proposed two-year moratorium, and something above 95 percent of the Legislature. The moratorium seems likely to make it to the governor’s desk as part of HB 1892 by state Rep. Wayne Smith, R-Baytown.

That bill has cleared the House and the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, and should be eligible for full Senate consideration early next week. The Smith bill makes sure the Harris County Toll Road Authority won’t have to pay billions for state-owned highway right of way, and is popular with that delegation. The moratorium, either as a single bill, or piggybacking on HB 1892, has already been approved in both houses on virtually unanimous votes.

No wonder Hammond was alone.

© 2007 Austin American-Statesman: www. statesman.com

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Scandal-plagued business brokers association wants taxpayers to pick up TAB for private toll roads

Business lobbyists back toll roads

4/26/07

News 8 Austin
Copyright 2007

The state's leading business group is urging lawmakers to reject the moratorium on private and public toll road projects.

The Texas Association of Business wants the Legislature to reject their plan placing a two-year moratorium on private toll road contracts and creating a panel to review the terms of such agreements.

"Texans and Texas business cannot afford to spend 345 million hours a year sitting in traffic. We need to keep this important tool. We're calling on the Legislature to reject the moratorium. Let's get on and get these projects built," Bill Hammond of the Texas Association of Business said.

Eight projects, including the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor, are affected by the moratorium.

The Texas Association of Business says the state should improve and expand, not limit the types of tools it uses to fund and improve the state's transportation system.

The proposal must get final House approval before it goes to the Senate. If approved, a commission would be formed to study the effects of certain toll roads, and would present their findings next year.

Gov. Rick Perry is also asking lawmakers to reject the bill. He has said the state's current transportation system, which involves public-private partnerships to build toll roads, needs to continue if Texas is to keep attracting big companies and jobs.

© 2007 TWEAN News Channel of Austin: www.news8austin.com

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Duke of Pork meets Prince of Wales

Postcards From the Lege

Krusee shown voting in House while in London

April 26, 2007

By W. Gardner Selby
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2007

It’s not every day a state legislator travels overseas while voting in the Texas House.

But that was the case today for Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson County, whose chief of staff told a group this morning that Krusee flew to London on Wednesday for a business meeting with Prince Charles.

Members of the Leadership Taylor 2007 group said they were told Krusee, a businessman, went to England at the request of the Prince of Wales, who wanted to discuss business development.

“We wish we’d gone with him,” said Gayle Collins, a retiree who heads the group.

Collins said she has no quibbles with the trip. “It could lead to something good for us. So why not?” she said.

When a reporter inquired into Krusee’s absence from the House, an aide said he was on a personal trip. His office didn’t immediately provide details.

Ted Delisi, Krusee’s political consultant, said the trip was not funded by a lobbyist — unlike trips taken by Krusee cited in a report issued this week, and subsequently amended, by Texans for Public Justice.

It’s not clear when Krusee left Texas. He was shown recording votes on the House floor into Wednesday evening. Just before 7 p.m., after a verification of votes on a proposal, House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, announced Krusee was excused on account of business.

Krusee was recorded as present in the House’s roll call today and then was shown recording votes about 25 times as members gave final approvals to measures. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, who sits at the desk in front of Krusee, could be seen punching the vote button on Krusee’s desk, not an uncommon practice in the chamber.

Delisi said members voting for other members has long been a “global issue,” perhaps best addressed by Craddick.

Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas office, said he hopes Krusee, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, returns from his visit with the prince inclined more toward rail transportation rather than automobiles. Prince Charles has an interest in reversing global warming.

Smith said he sees no ethical foul in a legislator taking a personal trip not funded by a special interest. The job of legislator in Texas is historically viewed as a part-time occupation. Members have jobs.

“And you know, I’m prone to finding fouls,” Smith said.

© 2007 Austin American-Statesman: www. statesman.com

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Road Rustlers and Lot Lizards

Lobbyists Pay Way for Texas Travel

New Report Outlines Expenses of Officials

April 25, 2007

The Bond Buyer
by Richard Williamson
Copyright 2007

DALLAS — Lobbyists have spent thousands of dollars sending Texas transportation officials to events related to public-private financing of toll roads as the state prepares to launch more than $7 billion worth of projects, according to an Austin-based public-interest research group.

“There’s jockeying to get a foot up in this market, and it’s a huge market,” said Andrew Wheat, spokesman for Texans for Public Justice, the group that investigated spending by lobbyists and their clients on travel for state officials.

Lobbyists paid travel expenses for 83 Texas lawmakers and officials on 363 occasions between January 2005 and November 2006, according to TPJ data. Many of those 83 officials worked in transportation-related departments or on legislation involving highways and toll roads, Wheat said.

Although the trips were not illegal, TPJ questioned the propriety of lawmakers and agency officials traveling to events at the expense of lobbyists for clients doing business with the state.

“Following Congress’ lead, Texas should ban lobbyists, lobby firms, and their clients from giving any gifts of more than a nominal value to candidates, public officials, or their staffs,” the TPJ report said. “Similarly, candidates, public officials, and their staffs should be prohibited from flying on non-commercial aircraft furnished by outside private interests.”

Among the top travelers was Senate Transportation Committee chairman Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Round Rock, some of whose $1,167 of travel expenses were provided by contractors on Texas toll road projects.

Among the trips highlighted in the report was Krusee’s trip to New York for The Bond Buyer Deal of the Year Award. Travel expenses were paid by Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP lobbyist Brian Cassidy, TPJ said. Cassidy represents the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, which won the Southwest regional deal of the year award for the $238 million financing of a 12-mile roadway with bonds under Krusee’s legislation.

Krusee, who is playing a key role in this session’s debate over private versus public financing of toll projects, took other trips paid by lobbyists for Trans Texas Corridor and other toll projects.

In a prepared statement, Krusee defended the trips, saying that they informed him about innovative transportation processes in other states.

“I vote and advocate for the people of my district,” Krusee said. “I don’t even know who funds these trips. People can criticize if they want; they do it every day.”

Lobbyist J. McCartt of Austin-based HillCo. Partners LLC flew Krusee to Las Vegas for the keynote address at a toll summit hosted by engineering firm PBS&J Inc. a week before the 2005 regular session ended, according to the TPJ report. PBS&J has worked on several toll projects. McCartt represents PBS&J and Trans Texas Corridor contractor Fluor Corp.

PBS&J was embroiled in a controversy over campaign contributions to U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida, in 2005 and was blacklisted from doing business with the Texas Department of Transportation, according to the TPJ report.

“Yet, the North Texas Tollway Authority awarded PBS&J a five-year contract to work on a joint project with TxDOT just three months later,” according to the TPJ report.

McCartt did not return a call requesting comment by press time yesterday.

Associated General Contractors, an industry trade group in Alexandria, Va., paid for five TxDOT officials to attend AGC’s summer conference at the Sheraton South Padre Island Resort in 2006, according to the report. AGC sent 10 state officials to its annual conference in 2005 and 2006, the report said.

AGC did not return a phone call requesting comment by press time yesterday.

Other transportation-related interests whose lobbyists paid for travel for state officials included HNTB Corp., a toll-road design firm, and the San Antonio Mobility Coalition, an advocacy organization funded by public and private money.

David S. Zachry of San Antonio-based Zachry Construction contributed $4,554 to travel expenses for a state official, the report said. Zachry Construction is partnering with Spanish toll road developer Cintra on the Trans Texas Corridor, envisioned as a $150 billion system of roads and rail lines from the borders of Mexico to Oklahoma.

Top Texas officials topped the list of travel recipients. Gov. Rick Perry received $205,460 worth of expenses and Attorney General Greg Abbott received $166,583. Comptroller Susan Combs received $87,788.

House Speaker Tom Craddick reported $4,146 of travel expenses while Lieut. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, reported none.

The conventional way for state officials to travel is through TxDOT, which maintains a fleet of state planes. The officials then file expense reports through TxDOT. However, legislators are allowed to travel at lobbyists’ expense to events related to their jobs.

In the wake of its report, the TPJ is “fielding quite a few hostile calls from people right now,” Wheat said. “There hasn’t been a lot of disclosure on this in the past. This is not popular.”

© 2007 The Bond Buyer: www.bondbuyer.com

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