"Dewhurst and Craddick also should investigate their own involvement and that of other policy-makers in the state’s transportation funding crisis."

Time to audit TxDOT

February 23, 2008

Editorial
Waco Tribune-herald
Copyright 2008

An independent audit of the budget disorder in the Texas Department of Transportation is due.

That’s exactly what Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick ordered this week.

The two said it became evident to them following a joint hearing of two Senate committees that the department suffers from “significant weakness and questionable accounting procedures” in financial forecasting and reporting.

The agency admitted a $1.1 billion bookkeeping error that resulted in a Texas-size transportation funding crisis.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee tried to get agency officials to explain how the agency made a billion-dollar mistake that cut off planned highway projects.

The eight-county Waco district, said to state Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, got hit the hardest when compared with others.

The agency already has been hit with a lawsuit filed by toll-road activists over its multimillion- dollar campaign said to violate a state law that prohibits state officers or employees from using their authority for political purposes.

In addition, an investigation could be launched to determine if the agency has been lobbying on behalf of toll roads.

As joint chairmen of the Legislative Audit Committee, Dewhurst and Craddick called for a comprehensive review of the whole mess. Of course, much of the blame rests with lawmakers themselves.

Dewhurst and Craddick also should investigate their own involvement and that of other policy-makers in the state’s transportation funding crisis.

Most Texans think their state gasoline taxes are dedicated for building and maintaining the state’s roads and bridges. What is less known is how lawmakers, who have refused to raise the gasoline tax since 1991, routinely raid transportation funds to help pay for the operation of the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Education Agency and various programs.

When it comes to transportation funding, a lot needs to be investigated.

© 2008 Waco Tribune-Herald: www.wacotrib.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

TURF urges Texas voters to attend precinct caucuses immediately after the polls close on 3/4/08

Voter Guide

Get these resolutions into your Party's platform

Grassroots Action Center
Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF)
Copyright 2008

Get our candidate report card here ( PDF file)

ATTEND YOUR PRECINCT CONVENTION WHEN THE POLLS CLOSE, MARCH 4.

Bring several copies of each to your precinct convention / caucuses that convene at your precinct (see your voter card) immediately after the polls close on March 4:

- Initiative Referendum - (Print PDF file here)
(for more info on initiative referendum in Texas, go to: http://www.initiativefortexas.org/)

RESOLUTION

To Allow the Citizens of Texas the Right of Statewide Initiative Referendum

Whereas, our Constitution allows citizens to petition the government for redress of grievances; and

Whereas, the Governor and Legislature of the State of Texas, and in particular the Texas Transportation Commission and the Texas Department of Transportation, have refused to heed the will of the people on a host of issues, including excessive taxation, toll roads, and the Trans Texas Corridor; and

Whereas, the tenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution states all powers not specifically enumerated in the Constitution belong to the states or to the people; Now, therefore, be it:

Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, allow the citizens of Texas the right to petition our government for redress of grievances through statewide initiative referendum; and further be it

Resolved, that this measure not be made overly cumbersome or the threshold for getting a measure on the ballot be too high; and further be it

Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately.

Adopted this ____day of _______, 20__ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
#_______,_____________ County of the__________________Party of Texas.

________________________________________
Name of Officer

________________________________________
Signature

- Eminent Domain Protection - (Print PDF file here)

RESOLUTION

Against eminent domain abuse for toll roads

Whereas, private Texas land can be taken through eminent domain for roadways; and

Whereas, the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Turnpike Authority, and Regional Mobility Authorities in the State of Texas have proposed and signed Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDAs), also known as public-private partnerships, that would allow land taken through eminent domain to be leased by private companies including foreign consortiums/entities, for private and/or commercial gain; and

Whereas, the existing Texas eminent domain law has so many loopholes andexceptions that any new or existing public roadway and road right of way can become part of a public-private partnership (CDA) leased and operated by private companies, including foreign consortiums/entities, for private and/or
commercial gain;

Now, therefore, be it:

Resolved, that we urge the Legislature to close any loopholes in our eminent domain laws that allows ANY government agency to take our private land for toll roads to be operated, leased, or managed by private companies, including foreign companies, for profit; and further be it

Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of any portion of any new or existing, publicly-owned roadway facility or right of way to be operated, leased, or managed by privatecompanies, including foreign companies, for profit.

Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ _ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct

#_______,_ ____________ County of the__________________Party of Texas.

________________________________________
Name of Officer

________________________________________
Signature


- Tolling Existing Roads - (Print PDF file here)

RESOLUTION

Against the Tolling of Existing Roadways in Texas

Whereas, we have already paid for our public roads and public road rights of way through the various local, State and federal taxes spent on road construction and maintenance; and

Whereas, the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Turnpike Authority, and Regional Mobility Authorities in the State of Texas have proposed the conversion of portions of existing road facilities and/or rights of way into tolled road facilities and rights-of-way; and

Whereas, existing Texas law has so many loopholes and exceptions that any existing public roadway and road right of way can be tolled without a vote of the citizens of the county in which the facility or right of way is located; and

Whereas, the conversion of any portion of an existing public road or road right of way into a tolled roadway constitutes the double taxation of the Citizens of the State of Texas;

Now, therefore, be it:

Resolved, that we oppose the tolling of any portion of any existing, publicly owned roadway facility or right of way; and further be it

Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of any portion of any existing, publicly-owned roadway facility or right of way as part of a tolled roadway facility and/or tolled right of way without the majority vote of the citizens in the county in which the existing public roadway facility or right of way is located; and further be it

Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to ANY and ALL roadways not currently open to traffic as a toll road to prevent any proposed conversions from occurring without such a vote of the residents of the affected county.

Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_, at the Precinct Convention of Precinct

#_______,_____________County of the__________________Party of Texas.

________________________________________
Name of Officer

________________________________________
Signature

________________________________________________________________


- Market-based Tolling - (Print PDF file here)

RESOLUTION

Repeal 'Market-Based' Tolling

Whereas, market-based tolls determine the highest possible toll “the market can bear;” and

Whereas, market-based tolls do not determine the toll rate based on the actual cost of construction, maintenance, and debt retirement but rather on how much profit the government can make off a given roadway; and

Whereas, this method of tolling allows the government to siphon money from motorists on one road segment to pay for other road segments;

Whereas, this method of tolling essentially applies the same problematic provisions as private equity toll roads (that are currently under a moratorium in Texas) to government toll roads by having private companies determine how much money the government can make off a roadway as if a private firm were tolling the road;

Whereas, this method of tolling is to maximize revenue and gouge motorists with unnecessarily high toll taxation rather than about providing transportation;

Now, therefore, be it:

Resolved, that we oppose market-based tolling; and further be it

Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of “market valuation” and any form of market-based
tolls; and further be it

Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to all roads where bonds have not already been sold.

Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ _ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct

_______,_ ____________ County of the__________________Party of Texas.

________________________________________


Name of Officer________________________________________

________________________________________
Signature


- Privately-Controlled Toll Roads - (Print PDF file here)

RESOLUTION

Against the Ownership, Leasing, Operation, and Management of Public Facilities by Private Entities

Whereas, the public facilities owned by the agencies and units of government of the State of Texas are owned, in fact, by the citizens of Texas; and

Whereas, proposals have been made to turn over the ownership, leasing, operation and/or management of existing and future public facilities in Texas to agencies, companies and/or private consortiums which are lead and primarily owned by private entities; and

Whereas, we believe that the collective public and private resources exist within the United States of America to safely, securely and efficiently own, operate and manage the public facilities owned by the citizens of the State of Texas; and

Whereas, we see no need for private firms and governments to profit from the public facilities owned by the citizens of Texas; and

Whereas, turning over for lease or ownership, the operation or management of public facilities to privately-controlled organizations represents an unnecessary financial and security risk to the citizens of the State of Texas;

Now, therefore, be it:

Resolved, that we oppose any contract between any agency or unit of government of the State of Texas and any private company or government or any private consortium including foreign firms; and further be it

Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, to prohibit agencies and units of government of the State of Texas from entering into any contract with any private company or government or any private consortium including foreign firms for the purposes of transferring the ownership, leasing, operation and/or management of any Texas public facility; and further be it

Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to prevent any such contracts under consideration from being executed and to cancel any such existing contracts.

Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ ____ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct

#_______,_ ______________ County of

the__________________Party of Texas.

____________________
Name of Officer

________________________________________
Signature

© 2008 Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF): www.texasturf.org

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"Free enterprise seems to be a concept that TxDOT and many government agencies don't promote any more."

TxDOT projects violate private property rights

2/22/08

Margaret Green, Buckholts
The Cameron Herald
Copyright 2008

Dear Texas Landowners and Taxpayers:

If you attended last Thursday night's TxDOT meeting about the 79 Loop around Rockdale, you heard some very disturbing information. No one likes their property taken by eminent domain.

But, the ‘new way' of doing road construction in Texas goes against every time-honored principle of private property rights and free enterprise that our society has practiced since our founding.

Simply put:

1. TxDOT is claiming that they are running low on funds for new road construction at this time.

But, the state plans to take/buy more right of way than they need at this time (perhaps will ever need) from landowners. They won't use it now and you can't use it anymore, ever (the right-of-way portion). And many local landowners are having 45, 75, or more acres split by this loop, leaving them no access to a large part of their property, unless some willing neighbor will grant them access on the ‘other side of the road.'

Where is TxDOT getting this money to purchase extra, unnecessary right-of-way at this time, if they are as low on funding as they would have us believe?

Actually, TxDOT has more money than ever before for road construction. This past election, voters passed an amendment giving TxDOT an additional $5 billion bonding capacity. Add that to the $10 billion they already had and you get $15 billion - more than two years of their whole budget - for new projects. (This money is not backed only by toll revenue as TxDOT would like us to think. It is there and available for new, free road projects.)

A very small spot audit by the Texas State Auditor's office found that TxDOT had ‘mis-coded' 21 of 32 billing statements checked (66 percent). They were coded ‘engineering construction,' but were actually used for advertising in favor of the Trans Texas Corridor. TxDOT is currently being sued for this mis-use of taxpayer funds that should have gone to road construction projects.

2. TxDOT is using a method called ‘controlled access' buy. Why? Thursday night Mr. Appleton stated that this prevent too many entrance points which ‘wear out the pavement.' Does he really think we all drove in on our turnip trucks just because we choose to live in the country?

3. Controlled access is the footprint of toll roads. Then, it is easier to have just a few entrances and exits to block off when TxDOT tells us they just can't afford this loop as a free route and they must toll it.

4. “Yes, your land will be devalued and you will not have access to some parts of it.” These were words hear Thursday night. Free enterprise seems to be a concept that TxDOT and many government agencies don't promote any more. Who ever heard, until recently, of a road coming by or through your property, making it less valuable? Usually, road frontage increases your property value. You, or some eager buyer who will give you top dollar, might want to set up a business along a busy loop and practice free enterprise.

Not anymore, if TxDOT has their way.

I, for one, prefer our time-honored traditions of free roads, free access and free enterprise.

© 2008 The Cameron Herald: www.cameronherald.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"Russell's remarks, though encouraging for those opposed to the highway project, are far from a final decision."

TxDOT official: Plans for massive Trans Texas Corridor will likely change

February 22, 2008

By MATTHEW STOFF
Longview News-Journal
Copyright 2008

NACOGDOCHES — In what may have been the first hint of victory for opponents of the Trans Texas Corridor, a high-ranking Texas Department of Transportation official said Thursday he regretted his agency's communication failures and said one proposed version of the corridor, a 10-lane super highway with rail and utility pathways, will "probably not" be built in East Texas, based on the overwhelming resistance to the idea expressed at public hearings on the project this month.

Phillip Russell, assistant executive director for innovative project development at TxDOT, was the keynote speaker at the Lone Star Legislative Summit at SFA Thursday, where he told listeners that "a lot of people that are supporting the notion of (TTC) 69 only do so if we use the existing roadway."

Russell said the most likely plan, based on public input, will be an enlargement of U.S. Hwy 59, with additional services like rail and utilities added as needed in separate areas — a departure from the plan for a 1,200 foot wide corridor that would pass east of Nacogdoches and gobble up thousands of acres of private land.

"Is it still possible that it might make sense to have all of that in a single corridor?" Russel said. "Yes. But is it more likely that it will be separated, and there will be pieces here and there? Yeah, I think clearly that's the direction we're heading."

Public comments on the TTC-69 project are being collected through March 19, and Russell acknowledged that there is a long, legally prescribed process before any final decisions are made. The three official options for the TTC project call for taking no action at all; building a whole new highway described in the Tier One Draft Environmental Impact Statement released last year; or enlarging existing highways. TxDOT officials have always said their policy is to consider the latter option first, but with the emphatic outcry against new construction, Russell said, that option is seeming more and more likely to become reality.

"I would be very surprised if we hear any other comments other than 'stay on 59 if you build it,'" Russell said. "I would anticipate — me as one person at TxDOT — that's where my view is. We need to look very closely at 59 — add lanes to 59."

Russell's remarks, though encouraging for those opposed to the highway project, are far from a final decision on the project. A revised environmental impact statement addressing substantive comments collected at public meetings, will face review by the federal highway administration this winter.

Nor would enlarging the footprint of U.S. Hwy 59 relieve landowners completely of the risk of having their land acquired for government use. Because the existing right-of-way around the U.S. Hwy 59 is so narrow, surrounding land would almost certainly be condemned to accommodate extra lanes or bypass routes involved in the expansion.

"It does create some challenges, obviously," Russell said. "Trying to build 59 through Houston is something else. And even if you come up here through East Texas, whether it's through Nacogdoches or Lufkin or Diboll, we're going have to look pretty closely."

Russell said the state would work with cities and counties on the process. He also encouraged everyone in attendance at the luncheon to participate in the commenting process, which he said was of paramount importance.

Those in the audience did not seem fazed by Russell's remarks about the highway, and most of the questions asked after his presentation focused on the lack of mass transit systems in Texas.

During his talk, Russell also touched on the financial aspect of public transportation in Texas, essentially repeating the conclusions of a recently released report by the federal government that describes an aging and increasingly-ineffective revenue system. Russell said tolls will be essential to fund any work on the TTC, and said consumers may also see a hike in the fuel tax, which has been stagnant since 1991.

Bruce Partain, CEO and president of the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the legislative summit, said his organization will continue to provide information about the TTC project to the community.

© 2008 Longview News-Journal: www.news-journal.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

Perry backs phony accounting 'crisis' numbers rather than making the case for his controversial polices with the people of Texas.

TxDOT's accounting tainting public trust

02/22/2008

Editorial
San Antonio Express-News
Copyright 2008

Faced with a steady barrage of criticism about the toll roads it is building and the freeways it isn't building, the Texas Department of Transportation has had a pat reply: Show us the money.

According to TxDOT's bookkeeping, there simply aren't enough public transportation dollars — and not enough dedicated dollars left after legislative diversions for non-transportation purposes — to build and maintain the state's highway infrastructure. According to agency projections, TxDOT faces a $3.6 billion shortfall by 2015.

Hemorrhaging that kind of red ink and with the Legislature putting the brakes on toll road expansion during the last session, TxDOT said it had to cut back on new construction. In all, $2 billion in projects were scrubbed from the current fiscal year.

But some lawmakers suspected the projected shortfall was simply a ploy to propel the toll issue. And they've come back in recent weeks to make a demand of TxDOT: Show us your books.

What they've found is disconcerting.

TxDOT wasn't including on its balance sheet as much as $8 billion in voter-approved bonds. There's a plausible explanation for $5 billion of those bonds. Voters only approved them in November.

But the other $3 billion in highway fund bonds were already in the pipeline. So why would TxDOT feel compelled to slash $2 billion in road projects?

As Express-News staff writers Patrick Driscoll and Peggy Fikac reported, Gov. Rick Perry advised the agency not to issue the bonds. Spokesman Robert Black told the newspaper, "It is yet another short-term fix that will only put us into debt further because it is building something today we'll have to pay for tomorrow."

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Tom Craddick have requested that the state auditor review TxDOT's accounting procedures, forecasting and reporting. A thorough audit may restore public confiden making his ce in the agency's numbers.

It will take a lot more than that, however, to restore public trust in the political leadership willing to fudge numbers that create an accounting crisis rather than making its case for controversial polices with the people of Texas.

© 2008 San Antonio Express-News: www.mysanantonio.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"The controversy over public-private partnerships has thrown a spotlight on the Texas Department of Transportation."

Texas lawmakers seek audit of transport budget after flap

Feb 20, 2008

By Joan Gralla
Reuters
Copyright 2008

NEW YORK- Top Texas legislative leaders asked the state auditor on Wednesday to probe the state Department of Transportation's budgeting, saying last week's hearing found "significant weakness and questionable accounting."

The transportation agency projected a $3.6 billion shortfall by 2015. But Lt Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Tom Craddick said it failed to include a total of $8 billion of transportation bonds and faulted its forecasts for higher maintenance costs.

The two Republicans asked State Auditor John Keel to conduct a "comprehensive review" of the agency's financial planning, according to their letter to him, which they released.

Texas has the nation's biggest privatization program -- a $50 billion multiyear plan -- that Republican Gov. Rick Perry says is needed to keep traffic from stalling growth.

But legislators enacted curbs last year that they say were needed to help prevent developers from enriching themselves at taxpayers' expenses.

The chair of the Texas transportation commission, Hope Andrade, in a statement said she would welcome a review, adding: "The mobility challenges we face are significant, and effectively addressing these issues will require an open dialogue as we continue to work alongside our transportation partners."

The governor's spokeswoman, Allison Castle, noted that Perry appoints the transportation commissioners who oversee the department, explaining he does not run its daily operations.

The controversy over public-private partnerships has thrown a spotlight on the transportation agency's budgeting because it has less reason to do such deals if it has more funds than it might appear, critics say.

The state auditor, asked if he would examine privatization issues in his review, replied: "We will look at what the letter asks us to and any other things that come to our attention."

Keel, who is appointed by the Legislature, said his staff will aim to finish the audit by the end of the state's fiscal year on Aug. 31.

The list of subjects that the House and the Senate, which Dewhurst controls, asked the auditor to probe included forecasts for higher maintenance costs that do not "seem to show a complete and accurate financial picture," they wrote.

"The agency claims to have experienced 60 percent inflation of highways costs between 2002 and 2007," they said, asking if the department's data matched "general trends" in highway construction.

Other practices they questioned included the agency's practice of shifting funds among districts. (Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by Jan Paschal)


© 2008 Reuters: www.reuters.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

Thanks Cap'n Kirk! : Watson gaffe sticks it to the Obama campaign

Watson mute on Obama accomplishments

February 20, 2008

By Mike Ward and W. Gardner Selby
Austin American-statesman
Copyright 2008

It was not state Sen. Kirk Watson’s finest moment.

Asked by MSNBC host Chris Matthews last night, before a national audience with cameras rolling, to name some of Barack Obama’s legislative accomplishments, the Austin lawmaker and Obama supporter came up blank.

Not a one.

Matthews asked again and again.

Dead air.

“I’m not going to be able to do it tonight,” Watson finally acknowledged on the air.

The gaffe, which was making the rounds of national talk shows today and blazing across the Internet, surely is not high on Watson’s short list of great accomplishments.

So what happened?

“That wasn’t just a bad dream?” Watson said this morning. “That really happened?”

Watson said he knew right away that he had screwed up.

“I know when I don’t perform well,” he said, wishing a day later that he’d been primed to talk about Obama’s past proposals regarding officeholder ethics, homeland security and nuclear warheads, among topics.

“I felt like all of a sudden I was at a CAMPO meeting,” Watson said, referring to the lively Central Texas transportation planning body that he heads.

Reminded that Mathews said on the air that Watson obviously had nothing to say, Watson laughed. “Can you imagine Kirk Watson with nothing to say? And you wonder why I think it was just a dream.”

In Houston, Obama’s campaign staff rolled their eyes when asked about the video.

In contrast, Hillary Clinton’s folks were e-mailing the video clip around with thanks to the new-found help from Watson to underscore Hillary’s campaign message that Obama is inexperienced.

Funny thing is, Watson’s appearance on the show was delayed several times during the evening, with a program representative repeatedly asking the state senator if he wanted to back out because of the delay. Watson said he owed it to Obama’s campaign to stick around.

“I must admit: I stood there naked,” he said. (Actually, he fielded a call from a pal in California who watched his appearance with the sound off on their TV. Looked real good, he was told.)

Watson had no beef with Mathews’ repeating the question. “He’s one of the more aggressive and loud” TV anchors, Watson said. “That’s what you get.”


© 2008 Austin American-Statesman: www.statesman.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"International global corporations are coming in and having their way with our politicians..."

Lou Dobbs on the 'NAFTA Superhighway'

2/19/08

Lou Dobbs
Cable News Network
Copyright 2008


"Many Texans are furious that the presidential candidates are just trying their darndest to ignore. It's the plan to build a massive superhighway, the Trans-Texas Corridor; the 'NAFTA Super Highway,' which will run from our border with Mexico, across Texas. And that superhighway is intended to go all the way up to Canada."

CNN POLL: Do you believe the presidential candidates in both parties should be required to take a position on the North American Union and the NAFTA Superhighway?

Yes	97%	9932
No	3%	269
Total Votes: 10201

This is not a scientific poll

Results as they appeared on www.LouDobbs.com at 9:50 a.m. February 20, 2008.

© 2008 Cable News Network: www.cnn.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"You'd think anyone serving on [the Appropriations Committee] would keep their own finances in order."

Records show Texas State Rep. Dawnna Dukes failed to pay taxes

2/19/08

Nanci Wilson
KETV (CBS)
Copyright 2008

State representative Dawnna Dukes sits on the most powerful committee of the legislature.

The appropriations committee controls how billions of our tax dollars are spent. Certainly, you'd think anyone serving on this committee would keep their own finances in order.

But, we found that may not always be the case. CBS 42 investigative reporter Nanci Wilson looks at liens, lawsuits and Dawnna Dukes’ defunct company. Watch the video of the full investigation.

Dukes responded to CBS 42's allegations with this written statement:

"In 2005/2006 my business did not do as well as it had in the past or doing now. And, I like many Americans encountered some financial difficulties that led to a hand full of problems. I did not walk away from any obligation and now almost all are behind me. I have handled my financial issues like any other family would. And the thought never crossed my mind to ask for special treatment and I have not. I accept responsibility and am working to meet all of my obligations.

But I want to stress that what happened with my personal business had no impact on my commitment to public service. I wanted the job of State Representative, and still do, and have chosen to make the sacrifice because the people of this district are worth it."

The campaign expenditures in question are legal and fully disclosed per state law.


Email: nkwilson@keyetv.com

© 2008 Four Points Media Group LLC: www.keyetv.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"I haven't found anybody in Trinity County that was for it. Not one soul."

Toll Road Debate Widens Divide in East Texas

2/18/2008

KLBJ News Radio (590 AM)
Copyright 2008

Disagreements over one route proposal for the I-69 leg of the Trans-Texas Corridor are causing a widening rift between local leaders in east Texas and elected officials at the State Capitol. A new series of hearings are taking place up and down what is now U.S. 59 from Texarkana to Laredo and Brownsville, as required by federal law before the highway project moves forward.

Last week, a hearing was held in Nacogdoches where farmers and ranchers got to ask questions of the state transportation department.

"I've attended three of the meetings, at least the meetings in my district, in my four-county area and I have yet to hear anyone testify in support of the Trans-Texas Corridor at this point," says State Representative Jim McReynolds (D-Lufkin).

Taxpaying citizens of east Texas apparently are not the only people who see the quarter-mile stretch of separate car and truck lanes, electric lines and pipelines as a detriment to their way of life.

"I don't like nothing about it. First of all, it would hurt us bad. The county and the city, it wouldn't help us at all and the way I understood it, there wouldn't be no on and off ramps. The nearest one would be in Walker County where it would cross 45," says Lyle Stubbs, Mayor of Trinity, Texas. "It would take up too much of our properties, approximately 5,800 acres."

Stubbs says Trinity County has always depended on timber as its main resource and cattle second for the county. "By taking all that land and stuff, it would just kill us. I haven't found anybody in Trinity County that was for it. Not one soul," Stubbs says.

In an apparent minority is Houston County Judge Lonnie Hunt, who insists he is taking a neutral point of view in the fight, but admits his county will be affected very little by the proposed route.

"I just think that any improvement in our transportation infrastructure is going to benefit our local economy. It's going to attract business and industry that need the transportation. There are really two issues here, I think. Is it going to be a positive, overall, to have a better transportation infrastructure, and I think the answer to that is 'yes'. And number two, what about all the folks that don't want to give up their land are going to have to, and that complicates the whole issue," Hunt tells KLBJ News.

McReynolds says the Texas Department of Transportation has changed its mind since first announcing the corridor would follow existing highways.

"After the hearings, our new Executive Director of TxDOT (Amadeo Saenz) reported to the news that what he was hearing repeatedly at all of these hearings was that the will of the people is to follow existing footprints. Now, that's not what's up for consideration right now. We get the option of no action whatsoever right now. But there will be a tier 2. I think when tier 2 comes up, you'll have somewhat of a different response than you're having right now, to TxDOT," McReynolds says.

Hunt believes there would be an economic benefit to the highway once it is built, in spite of reports that some interchanges would be as many as 30 miles apart.

"I've been to a couple of these town hall meetings and a couple of the people who have been there have said 'you know, we've just botched this whole thing up'. At one of the meetings, the specific question came up, 'can we stop this highway', and the answer was 'yes'," Hunt says. "When this all started, TTC-69 began with that was supposed to be I-69, which was basically going to be an improvement and widening of U.S. 59. I grew up on U.S. highway 59 and I remember when I was a kid, that it was a two-lane highway just south of Lufkin in Polk County. Our neighbors right across the road from us, some of them lost their homes and some of them had to have their homes moved back away from the right-of-way. That wasn't a fun thing for those folks but I hate to think now what would have happened if they hadn't made Highway 59 a divided highway back then, in the '60s."

EMINENT DOMAIN

One method of forcibly acquiring the land needed for the Trans-Texas Corridor is through Eminent Domain. The State can legally take private property for a project in the greater good of the public, and most governments generally offer what they see as fair market value for the property.

"Whenever you take a person's land by eminent domain, you're going to have problems, beyond any question of doubt," McReynolds says. "But I think that would be a lot better than just coming to a little county like Trinity County and taking 6,000 acres out. That's where we enjoy our land, we're private property ownership is at stake. This is where we deer hunt, this is where our homes are, this is where pawpaw rides grandson on a four-wheeler. This is home for us. And to build a quarter-mile corridor through the middle of a county where your wildlife cannot even migrate from one side of a rural county to another, then that's a bit much to ask of rural people."

"It would probably cause a lot of people to just completely go out of business," Stubbs says. "With fuel costs the way they are and the inconvenience. Our taxes would go up because they would have to make up for the taxes in some way or another and that would make our taxes increase. We don't have any farm land. It's all ranches around here. Most of our guys around here have cattle and horses."

"Change is never easy," says Hunt, persistent that he is not an advocate of the TTC/69 project, but a neutral observer. "But change is coming whether we like it or not. Now, we have a couple of options. We can try to manage the change to our benefit or we can just sit back and let the change manage us. I think we should plan for the future and I think we definitely need more highway infrastructure. In a perfect world, we could get more highway money back from Washington and TxDOT could have more money and we wouldn't have to worry about building toll roads. That would be my preference."

TxDOT, "A RUNAWAY HORSEMAN"?

"We try to use the taxpayers' money as wisely as we possibly could. We gave TxDOT allocation this past session higher than they had ever received, and yet they make those kinds of mistakes [$1.1 (B) billion miscalculation]," McReynolds says. "Secondly, on the 23rd of January, I get e-mails where TxDOT confesses that they've hired lobbyists. Excuse me, but agencies cannot hire lobbyists. It's against the law. So, TxDOT, as far as the legislature is concerned at this moment, is a runaway horseman. We're going to have to rein that in and we're going to be darn certain when we get back to session that they hear us loud and clear."

"In our general area, I think everybody feels the same about this thing. In Walker County, their commissioners' court did a resolution against it on Monday. Our county passed a resolution Monday and supposedly they faxed a copy of it to the Governor and our representatives," Stubbs says.

"There are about 250 agencies in the state and I think part of our responsibility is to see that those agencies function the way they're supposed to function. The very first thing is that our state auditors needs to get into their books. If they can't manage their books, then by golly, we'll give them a little help," McReynolds says.

IS AUSTIN LISTENING?

"I would sure hope so. The main one is the Governor. He sure needs to listen because I understand that he's the author of this bill," Stubbs says. Now, whether I'm right or wrong, I don't know. I understand that it was just dropped in TxDOT's lap and they're just following through with the job they've gotta do. Everybody in our county, I haven't found one person that's for it. We're beginning to grow a little bit in the city and there's no way that would help us at all. We've got people around here who has had land in their family for hundreds of years and they've lose their land. I can't see anything positive about it for us."

Representative McReynolds says his decade of service as vice-chair of the Rural Caucus has seen many days and many conversations with the executives in charge of the Texas Transportation Commission.

"We rural caucus members and organizations like the farm bureau and others have had a lot of serious concerns about [TTC/69]. Most of my part of the world is not opposed to building infrastructure. But truthfully, we have had in mind all these years something like I-69, and then all of the sudden, TxDOT mixes I-69 with the Trans-Texas Corridor.

We who have been in that alliance for I-69 for many years suddenly pull back and say 'gee whiz, why aren't we following existing footprints?'. That will be tier-2 and it will not be done by TxDOT until 2009, using existing footprints. I don't think anybody that has testified at these hearings to this point have objections to using existing footprints. U.S. 59, for example, why couldn't you add some lanes there and add tolls to those lanes, but certainly don't toll anything that exists today. We in the legislature could give authority to travel 80 miles per hour on that, and that could be a perfect for using that toll so I think everybody would be relatively pleased with that."

"It would probably cause a lot of people to just completely go out of business," Stubbs says. "With fuel costs the way they are and the inconvenience. Our taxes would go up because they would have to make up for the taxes in some way or another and that would make our taxes increase. We don't have any farm land. It's all ranches around here. Most of our guys around here have cattle and horses."

"Of course, they kept stressing to all of the people who were there that TxDOT is going to listen to what they have to say. I guess it remains to be seen how much they're going to listen to what the people have to say. Because honestly the people in the path of the road seem to be almost unanimously against it," Hunt adds.

TxDOT's schedule of public hearings on the I-69 leg of TTC continues.

See that schedule here.

http://www.keeptexasmoving.org/index.php/trans-texas_corridor

© 2008 Emmis Austin Radio Broadcasting Company: www.590klbj.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"TxDOT feels safe in threatening our communities and thumbing its nose at the Legislature."

Guest column:

Time to push back against Perry, toll roads

February 17, 2008

Jim Dunnam
Waco Tribune-Herald
Copyright 2008

Take the toll route?

Tolling Interstate 35 lanes through Waco is a terrible idea, and I’m committed to stopping it.

The Texas Transportation Department is claiming budget shortfalls over the next 25 years. Its claims are exaggerated.

One independent analysis says the agency is overestimating the shortfall by $30 billion. In addition, the 2007 state auditor’s report identified an $8.6 billion error in the shortfall and questioned another $37 billion because of improper documentation.

At a recent Senate committee hearing, TxDOT admitted to another billion-dollar “accounting error.”

At that Senate hearing, Sen. Steve Ogden expressed dismay at TxDOT’s financials, calling them “screwed up.”

More diplomatic, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst wrote that TxDOT “does not show the complete financial picture.”

Sen. Kirk Watson summed it up best, stating Texans “cannot trust the Texas Department of Transportation or the policies that are consigning Texas to inadequate roads and privatized tollways.”

Even a cursory look at the facts proves the senators right. The current state budget appropriates $16.9 billion to TxDOT — that’s a $1.8 billion (12 percent) increase over its previous budget. In fact, the 2007 Legislature gave TxDOT over $200 million more than TxDOT even requested.

In addition, TxDOT’s planning process doesn’t factor another $9 billion in revenue — $3 billion in State Highway Fund bonds, $5 billion in voter-approved general obligation bonds and the possibility of $1.3 billion in Mobility Fund bonds.

At the Senate hearing, Sen. Judith Zaffirini suggested the “funding crisis” and the “solution” of toll roads is simply TxDOT “scheming to promote its own political agenda.”

So what is that agenda?

Gov. Rick Perry and his appointees overseeing TxDOT make no secret they want to make Texas a toll road state.

Their ultimate goal is to create a new privatized source of money that will be free from public accountability.

Tolling Texas roads was an idea sold by Perry in 2003 as a limited tool for communities that wanted tolls. However, once voters said OK, Perry revealed his true plans — a Spanish-run Trans-Texas Corridor and a series of toll roads crisscrossing Texas.

The first phase would take 71,661 acres and 8,036 other parcels of private land to build a road that would cost Texans more than $20 to travel one-way from Dallas to Austin.

Once this real agenda came out, the Legislature promptly stopped it, overwhelmingly passing a moratorium on most toll road projects.

Threatening Waco

Perry’s reaction was to have TxDOT start threatening local cities. That’s exactly what just happened to Waco — either “agree” to toll I-35 lanes or TxDOT will cancel existing projects and delay all plans to expand I-35.

While threatening Waco with “toll lanes or no lanes,” TxDOT chose to award more than $84 million from “Strategic Priority Funds” to Grayson County for local projects — that’s most of the cost of putting eight full lanes on I-35 through Waco.

While undoubtedly important to Grayson County, these projects are not statewide “strategic priorities” like I-35.

This just shows that the tolls agenda is one of choice, not necessity.

Money from Perry’s toll lanes will go to issue bonds for other projects. The bond money will be separate from the main state budget, meaning there will be almost no legislative accountability.

And lack of legislative accountability is the exact reason TxDOT feels safe in threatening our communities and thumbing its nose at the Legislature. TxDOT’s main funding, the gas tax, is dedicated by the Texas Constitution.

That means TxDOT can ignore the Legislature and still know it will get its money.

Bonds from toll roads will be like another dedicated revenue source, making TxDOT autonomous and the situation worse.

TxDOT needs to be reined in and made accountable. TxDOT should provide the Legislature with accurate information; but how to pay for the roads should be decided by the Legislature.

The Legislature will work to address Texas transportation needs responsibly through cooperation at the federal, state and local levels. But in order to do that, TxDOT must be an honest and accountable partner.

Our forefathers gave us great free roads in Texas. Our legacy should not mean our children have to pay an extra $3 to drive from Lorena on I-35 to buy a Health Camp burger. Instead, Central Texans need to stand up and say “no” to toll lanes on I-35 — and I intend to do just that.

Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, is State Representative for District 57.

© 2008 Waco Tribune-Herald: www.wacotrib.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE