Stall: "The Texas Transportation Commission’s action is as binding as flashy political campaign material.”

Highway commission’s actions on toll roads called ‘meaningless’

May 31, 2008

The Brenham Banner-Press
Copyright 2008

An organization which has been fighting the proposed Trans Texas Corridor says the Texas Transportation Commission’s statements on toll roads is “meaningless arm-waving that provides no new commitment, relief or citizen protection from toll road abuses and the Trans Texas Corridor.”

David Stall, co-founder of the Fayetteville-based CorridorWatch, said the commission’s action is “as binding as flashy political campaign material.”

“The only statement we wholly agree with is chairman (Deirdre) Delisi’s that ‘Texans deserve a clear, straightforward explanation of what we are doing to solve our transportation challenges ...’ We are waiting for that to happen,” said Stall.

“CorridorWatch takes no comfort in today’s action. However, we are always willing to participate in the process and encourage the Transportation Commission and Texas Legislature to make meaningful improvements in transportation planning and implementation.

“Our goal is to ensure that Texans can have improved, safe and reliable transportation systems that are developed through a transparent process and managed in a way that is accountable to the citizens and taxpayers.”

Delisi expressed a desire to build public trust in the transportation agency.

The commissioners adopted an order governing toll projects and the Trans-Texas Corridor and set out to improve citizen and legislative access to TxDOT’s financial data.

“There’s a lot more that we can do ... so that there is the public trust,” Delisi said.

The commission unanimously agreed that all Texas highways will be owned by the state, not private developers; that the state may buy back the interest of a private road developer; that only expansions to existing highways will be tolled and existing free lanes won’t be reduced; and that “non-compete clauses” will be banned, meaning no state contract will limit improvements to nearby existing roads.

The order also calls for an attempt to minimize disturbing private property and to consider using existing rights of way for roads.

The clarifying statement came in response to public criticism during the early planning stages of the Trans Texas Corridor, Perry’s ambitious long-term plan to contract with private companies to build toll roads throughout the state.

Perry rolled out the plan in 2002. Initial phases of the Trans Texas Corridor are a toll highway that would run roughly parallel to part of Interstate 35, and Interstate 69, a new road that would be constructed from northeast Texas to the Rio Grande Valley.

“The action of the Commission today helps get transportation policy moving in a positive direction,” said state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, an Irving Republican and vice president of the Texas Conservative Coalition, which supported the new commission order.

Sen. John Carona, a Dallas Republican and chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, said the transportation department is a troubled agency.

He has been outspoken in saying there were others more qualified than Delisi to lead the commission and that her appointment was a purely political move by Perry, a fellow Republican.

Perry appointed Delisi, his former gubernatorial chief of staff and former campaign manager, to the commission in April.

That said, Carona added that he is optimistic Delisi will strive to get the agency and commission on track. They have suffered from poor communication and “public policy that is tone deaf to the citizens of the state,” he said.

© 2008 The Brenham Banner-Press www.brenhambanner.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"The Minute Order was merely a repackaging of familiar statements that are already in state law."

Kolkhorst seeks ‘real’ reforms to TTC plans

5/31/08

The Huntsville Item
Copyright 2008

State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst said it’s time for Texas transportation officials to talk about real reforms to address the public outrage over the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor.

The Brenham Republican’s reaction followed Thursday’s actions taken by the Texas Transportation Commission.

The panel adopted a set of guiding principals and policies which will govern the development, construction and operation of all toll road projects on the state highway system and the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor.

Bob Colwell, Texas Department of Transportation public information officer for the Bryan district, said the adoption of the guidelines does not reflect the final approval of Interstate 69 or the Trans-Texas Corridor.

The guidelines were adopted to reaffirm the state laws in place regarding current and future toll road projects.

The Trans-Texas Corridor is opposed by numerous Walker County landowners and residents.

“We should welcome any effort by TxDOT to address the concerns so many Texans have about the Trans-Texas Corridor,” Kolkhorst said in a prepared statement.

“What I hope to be hearing from TxDOT is that they’re willing to change,” said Kolkhorst, who represents four counties, including Walker, in the state Legislature. “The Minute Order that was passed this week offers nothing new and does not offer any real reforms or serious changes from the current atmosphere.

“It was merely a repackaging of familiar statements that are already in state law. I’m glad to see that the new TxDOT leadership is reaching out, but it’s time to roll up our sleeves and talk about real reforms to address the public outrage over the Trans-Texas Corridor.”

Colwell said the adopted guidelines are “just principals and guidelines we are to follow on all toll road projects on the state highway system. This release does not mean we will or will not build the Trans-Texas Corridor.

“Rather, if the Trans-Texas Corridor were to go through, these would be the guidelines followed during its development, construction and operation,” Colwell said. “Those same guidelines will now be followed for the construction and operation of all toll road projects on the state highway system.”

Colwell said the commission adopted the guidelines in order to reaffirm the policies and requirements of state law regarding toll projects.

The commission’s adoption of the guidelines reaffirmed its commitment to meet or exceed the requirements of state law on five key issues, he said.

• “All state highway facilities, including the Trans-Texas Corridor, will be completely owned by the state of Texas at all times;”

• “All Comprehensive Development Agreements will include provisions that allow TxDOT to purchase or ‘buy back’ the interest of a private developer in a CDA at any time if buying back the project would be in the best financial interest of the state;”

• “The Texas Transportation Commission shall approve, in a public meeting, the initial toll rates charged for the used of a toll project on the state highway system and the methodology for increasing the amount of tolls. All rate-setting actions will come after consultation with appropriate local metropolitan planning organizations;”

• “Only new lanes added to an existing highway will be tolled, and there will be no reduction in the number of non-tolled lanes that exist today;” and

• “Comprehensive Development Agreements will not include ‘non-compete’ clauses that would prohibit improvements to existing roadways. The department and any governmental entity can construct, reconstruct, expand, rehabilitate or maintain any roadway that is near or intersects with any roadway under the CDA.”

Colwell said TxDOT is still in the process of reviewing more than 27,000 comments before making any further decisions about the construction of the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor.

© 2008 The Huntsville Item www.itemonline.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"The Minute Order offers nothing new and does not offer any real reforms or serious changes from the current atmosphere."

Kolkhorst: ‘Wait, see’ on TxDOT

May 31, 2008

The Brenham Banner-Press
Copyright 2008

State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst has taken a “wait and see” attitude on the Texas Transportation Commission’s vote on policies on the development, construction and operation of toll road projects on the state highway system and the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) is an adamant opponent of the Trans Texas Corridor, a mammoth toll road being proposed by Gov. Rick Perry. One proposed route would bring a segment of the controversial roadway through western Washington County.

The commission’s unanimous vote “reaffirms policies and the requirements of state law regarding toll projects, particularly involving the use of comprehensive development agreements (CDA),” according to a press release issued by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

“The commission’s action today reflects the comments we have received from Texas drivers, legislators and members of our citizen advisory committees,” said commission chairwoman Deirdre Delisi. “Texans deserve a clear, straightforward explanation of what we are doing to solve our transportation challenges and how we are doing it.”

The commission is a five-member board appointed by the governor to oversee TxDOT, which has come under heavy public criticism.

Kolkhorst said Friday that “we should welcome any effort by TxDOT to address the concerns so many Texans have about the Trans-Texas Corridor.

“What I hope to be hearing from TxDOT is that they’re willing to change. The minute order that was passed this week offers nothing new and does not offer any real reforms or serious changes from the current atmosphere.

“It was merely a repackaging of familiar statements that are already in state law.

“I’m glad to see that the new TxDOT leadership is reaching out, but it’s time to roll up our sleeves and talk about real reforms to address the public outrage over the Trans-Texas Corridor.”

The commission said it reaffirmed its commitment to meet or exceed the requirements of state law on five key issues:

• All state highway facilities, including the Trans-Texas Corridor, will be completely owned by the state at all times.

• All CDAs will include provisions that allow TxDOT to purchase or “buy back” the interest of a private developer in a CDA at any time if buying back the project would be in the best financial interest of the state.

• The commission shall approve, in a public meeting, the initial toll rates charged for the use of a toll project on the state highway system and the methodology for increasing the amount of tolls. All rate-setting actions will come after consultation with appropriate local metropolitan planning organizations.

• Only new lanes added to an existing highway will be tolled, and there will be no reduction in the number of non-tolled lanes that exist today.

• Comprehensive development agreements will not include “non-compete” clauses that would prohibit improvements to existing roadways. The department and any governmental entity can construct, reconstruct, expand, rehabilitate or maintain any roadway that is near or intersects with any roadway under the CDA.

The commission also affirmed two additional principles: that TxDOT will always consider the use of existing right of way that satisfies the purpose and need of the project as a possible project location when conducting environmental studies; and yo the extent practical, TxDOT will plan and design facilities so that a landowner’s property is not severed into two or more separate tracts and the original shape of the property is preserved.

“These principles will help guide TxDOT as we work to improve our state’s traffic congestion and air quality problems,” said Delisi. “The Texas Legislature shares our commitment to improving highway safety and creating economic opportunity, and they expect us to meet these goals in keeping with our state’s tradition of protecting the rights of property owners.”

Delisi said that the Trans-Texas Corridor implementation plan should be updated to reflect changes in the state’s transportation challenges since it was first released in June 2002.

TxDOT deputy executive director Steve Simmons reported to the commission that input for the principles included more than 27,000 comments received during the public involvement process on the East Texas segment of TTC.

© 2008 The Brenham Banner-Press www.brenhambanner.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"TxDOT has become an agency that is focused on making money and deciding policy, and they need to get back to the business of building roads."

Panel to call for axing Texas' transportation board

May. 31, 2008

By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2008

A legislative group will recommend next week that a conservator take over the Texas Department of Transportation, an agency under fire for planning toll roads in areas that don't want them and failing to keep track of its finances properly, officials said.

The staff of the Sunset Advisory Commission, which periodically reviews state agencies to see whether they're still functioning properly, is expected to release a report on the department next week.

The Transportation Department has been overseen by a three- or five-member commission with members appointed by the governor throughout its 91-year history. But several people who have reviewed drafts of the sunset report say one of the key recommendations is to replace the current five-member transportation commission with a single commissioner who would serve a two-year, paid term and report to the Legislature.

"TxDOT has become an agency that is focused on making money and deciding policy, and they need to get back to the business of building roads," said state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, who serves on the sunset commission.

Harper-Brown declined to comment on the report itself. But she said better communication with Texans -- especially lawmakers -- is crucial to the Transportation Department restoring its credibility.

"Whatever tools we give them, that's what they need to work with," she said.

Background

Since 2003, transportation commissioners have succeeded in having laws changed, creating alternatives to the state's gas tax, including private investment in toll roads.

Opposition to those changes surfaced during the 2006 gubernatorial race, when three challengers attacked Gov. Rick Perry's vision for the Trans-Texas Corridor, a proposal to build a network of mega-wide toll roads.

Many lawmakers in 2007 said they regretted giving the Transportation Department more power in previous sessions, and the Legislature passed a bill that put a moratorium on toll projects.

Also last year, transportation officials were forced to cancel many construction projects statewide after realizing they'd overestimated their funds by $1.1 billion. They blamed miscommunication between the agency's planning and financial staffs, and promised to reorganize the department to prevent more mistakes.

What's next

The Sunset Advisory Commission will debate the Transportation Department's management during a hearing in Austin. Some recommendations could become state law during the 2009 legislative session, which begins in January.

Transportation commissioners and staff members say they're ready for a tense hearing.

"I'm sure the agency will be roundly criticized, and you know what? It's part of the public process," said Commissioner Bill Meadows of Fort Worth. "The sunset process is not something you should be afraid of. It's something you really should welcome."

gdickson@star-telegram.com

GORDON DICKSON, 817-685-3816


© 2008 Fort Worth Star-Telegram www.star-telegram.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"I think we've won a battle, but not won the war."

Legislator Is Confident TTC Is Dead, Landowners More Cautious

5/30/08

by Donna McCollum
KTRE-TV
Copyright 2008

Nacogdoches County-State Representative Wayne Christian is not backing off his claim about the Trans Texas Corridor. He said from his Center office, " The Trans Texas Corridor, for all practical purposes, is dead. Now, could it come back, sure. " That last part, is what worries landowners. They praise Representative Christian's efforts, but right now are reluctant to celebrate.

Several Nacogdoches County landowners received letters from the governor as late as Friday indicating no change in his position on TTC. Merry Anne Bright with the Piney Woods Alliance said, " Really until Rick Perry says something more definitive about it than that would be another thing for us to look forward to, for him to say something." Christian says the governor spoke to him last week. The political promise has been made. Christian claims, " We could go in the legislative session and spend 5 months of our valuable time dealing with it. The deal is we got from the governor, from the head commissioner and from the executive director an agreement to what we've been asking for."

Nolan Alders doesn't doubt politicians are concerned. " Right here is the reason, 34,000 comments and counting," as he points to his notes. That's a lot of people voicing opposition to the proposed TTC. Yet, the TTC-I-69 advisory committee member remains cautious. Alders said, " I'm very encouraged, now don't misunderstand me. We're going to get there, but I would say to the citizens of east Texas, let's keep pushing with all our might. Let's keep sending comments in and let's just act like it's coming through our door, but I think we're going to make it. "

Change is occurring, but the interpretation of its success is at different levels. Christian contends, "Our victory is definitely legitimate." Alders believes, " I think we've won a battle, but not won the war." Bright said, " I'm not confident that it won't roll on just like it's planned." And until the voters are, the TTC fight will continue.

© 2008 KTRE-TV www.ktre.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"TxDOT's minute order does little to truly bind it in its future dealings."

Texas transportation panel sets new rules on toll contracts

May 30, 2008

By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2008

The Texas Transportation Commission issued a set of rules for entering into private toll road contracts Thursday in an effort to curb criticism by lawmakers and others who have continued to hammer the agency's push for private toll roads.

The set of guiding principles, as TxDOT called the minute order approved at its Thursday commission meeting, deals with some of the most controversial aspects of private toll road contracts, but in many cases reflects limits already imposed by the Legislature.

No deal will give private companies, for instance, the right to own a road they build, nor will any private firm have the right to set toll rates, the minute order says. Those rates will continue to be set by TxDOT and local planning entities like the North Central Texas Council of Governments' Regional Transportation Council.

"The commission's action today reflects the comments we have received from Texas drivers, legislators and members of our citizen advisory committees," said commission chairwoman Deirdre Delisi.

"Texans deserve a clear, straightforward explanation of what we are doing to solve our transportation challenges and how we are doing it."

But Thursday's minute order does little to truly bind TxDOT in its future dealings. For instance, the policy states that every private toll road contract will in the future contain a clause permitting the state to take over a toll road at any time, should it ever decide doing so was in the public interest. But it's not the existence of such a term that matters most to critics of the department, because it will be the terms of the buyback that will determine whether it's a good deal for taxpayers or not.

© 2008 The Dallas Morning News www.dallasnews.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"Bribes in exchange for contracts."

Former TxDOT officials plead guilty to taking bribes

May 30, 2008

AP, The Brownsville Herald
Copyright 2008

McALLEN - Three former Texas Department of Transportation employees pleaded guilty Friday to accepting bribes in exchange for contracts, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The former district maintenance administrator for TxDOT and the two inspectors pleaded guilty Friday morning to accepting bribes from an undercover agent in amounts ranging from $200 to $2,000 to award a "sweeping contract" worth more than $5,000.

Cresenciano Falcon, 56, Ray Llanes, 50, and Noe Beltran, 42, each face up to 10 years in prison and as much as a $250,000 fine for their parts in the scheme, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office. The three accepted the bribes in exchange for awarding a contract to help clean the highways.

A TxDOT representative said the contracts are important to keeping the roadways safe for motorists.

"Anytime there are allegations of wrongdoing with any of our employees, it's a sad time for our department," TxDOT spokesman Chris Lippincott said. "We are doing everything we can to cooperate with authorities and remain committed to integrity."

Few details of the alleged operation have been made public. The U.S. attorney's office did not return a call Friday seeking comment.

Falcon declined to comment when reached by phone Friday afternoon, and his attorney Ricardo Salinas did not return a call seeking comment. Efforts to reach Beltran and Llanes were unsuccessful.

© 2008 The Brownsville Herald: www.brownsvilleherald.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

After six months of being shelved, Austin's Phase II freeway toll conversions are back on track...

CENTRAL TEXAS DIGEST

Work on six projects can go on

May 30, 2008

Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2008

Engineering work on six toll road projects, which the Texas Department of Transportation's money crunches shelved for six months, can move forward after a 4-1 vote Thursday by the Texas Transportation Commission.

The commission's nod essentially puts the projects — adding managed lanes to MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1); expanding portions of U.S. 290 East, U.S. 183, Texas 71 and the "Y" at Oak Hill as toll roads; and building one new road, Texas 45 Southwest — in the hands of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority.

That agency plans to borrow $65 million for engineering and right-of-way costs and needed the commission vote to move forward. Actual construction on the first of the projects, U.S. 290 East, remains at least a year away.

© 2008 Austin American-Statesman www.statesman.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"Until the Legislature takes the decision-making power AWAY from an un-elected, unaccountable agency, this whole exercise is a non-starter."

All talk, no teeth as Transportation Commission attempts to quell opposition

5/29/08

Written by Terri Hall
Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (T.U.R.F.)
Copyright 2008

Don't believe the hype.

Today the Texas Transportation Commission adopted a Minute Order designed to fool people into thinking they've changed their stripes.

The reality? It's all posturing.

New Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi (who has no transportation experience only running political campaigns for Rick Perry then becoming his Chief of Staff) wants the Senate to confirm her, and the Commission knows the Sunset Review will bring serious legislatively mandated changes they want to avoid.

There's nothing about a Minute Order that is even binding. TxDOT can change this at their whim and violate it anytime. Add to that, many of these provisions are already not allowed or required by state law.

Here's a summary of the gaping holes and inadequacies of this Minute Order:

• They don't mention that a competing facility could require compensation (taxpayer payments to investors if TxDOT expands or builds a competing road), and there's no mention of stripping non-competes from bond agreements (they only addressed CDAs or PPPs contracts here). Bond companies require non-competes and create the same guaranteed congestion on non-toll routes.

• Also, there's no prohibition against taking existing highway lanes and tolling them leaving the only non-toll lanes frontage roads (totally different in function and speed and stop light times can be manipulated to drive traffic to the toll lanes, etc.). That's the crux of much of the angst on urban toll projects. They also failed to address their illegal ad campaign and lobbying. If they seriously wanted to build trust, they would have moved to cease those practices unconditionally.

Until the Legislature takes the power of decision-making of this type AWAY from an un-elected, unaccountable agency run amok and gives it back to the PEOPLE and their representatives, this whole exercise is a non-starter.

© 2008 Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom www.texasturf.org

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

Privatization cheerleaders in Texas Conservative Coalition claim credit for 'agreement' with TxDOT to follow laws they were already supposed to uphold

New 'Agreement' on the Trans-Texas Corridor

5/29/08

KTRE-TV
Copyright 2008

Here is the full press release issued Thursday afternoon by State Representative Wayne Christian:

Today State Representative Wayne Christian (R-Center), President of the Texas Conservative Coalition (TCC) , announces an agreement on vital issues regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor.

The Transportation Commission adopted a minute order today reaffirming five statutory requirements proposed by the members of the TCC and issuing two new protections for future transportation infrastructure development.

The minute order is a response to a February 4 letter from the Texas Conservative Coalition (TCC), the conservative caucus of the Texas Legislature. Rep. Christian, along with thirty-three of his colleagues in the State House, signed it and asked for adherence to existing transportation safeguards. Based on the TCC letter, the Transportation Commission has formally agreed to follow these statutory requirements:

• The state will retain ownership of its state highways and will not transfer this ownership to private developers.

• All contracts entered into by the Department of Transportation (the Department) will contain provisions that allow the state to buy back any facilities that have been leased to a private developer.

• The Department will only approve initial rates for toll projects in a public meeting and in coordination with local metropolitan planning organizations.

• Tolling will only be imposed on new capacity, and the amount of non-tolled lanes on existing roads will not be reduced.

• No contract entered into by the Department will include any limitations or prohibitions on improvements needed to existing or future highways.

• Prohibition on non-compete clauses with state contracts and financing

The Transportation Commission minute order also issues the following property rights safeguards:

• The Department will utilize existing rights of way and easements when possible so that private property is not taken when it is not needed.

• Transportation projects will be planned, subject to environmental regulations, so that existing property is not split into separate tracts.

"Given the intensity of public opposition to some elements of state transportation policy, TCC members urged the Texas Transportation Commission to make a course correction, and the agency responded," said Christian. "We appreciate the Transportation Commission's openness, and for providing clarity in the critical area of transportation."

Last month, Amadeo Saenz, Executive Director of the Texas Department of Transportation, called Rep. Christian to discuss the TCC members' concerns regarding TXDOT's transportation policies. Additionally, Rep. Christian met in Austin last Thursday with Governor Rick Perry and top TxDOT officials where they agreed that the commission would address the concerns of the coalition at today's Transportation Commission meeting.

"During our meeting last week, I was pleased that the Governor and TXDOT leadership agreed to begin the reversal of the Trans-Texas Corridor and return to the I-69 project, which is an expansion of existing US 59," explained Christian. "While it may take a while to remove the name from TxDOT literature, I am proud to say that we have put the first nails in the coffin of the Trans-Texas Corridor in East Texas! I thank the Governor and his TXDOT leadership for listening to the citizens of Texas. I also thank the hundreds of citizens in my district and across Texas for standing up and proving our American system still works when people speak out."

Wayne Christian's Comment: " The agreement that the governor, the executive director and the commissioner have all agreed and say they've voted was that basically the Trans Texas Corridor is dead. They're going back to the I 69, using right of way on US 59 to the maximum extent possible and this is the same program that we've been working on. The mayor over in Lufkin for years and John Dean Windham over here in Center have been working on for 15-20 years called I 69 project, back using the right of way we already have. "

© 2008 WorldNow and KTRE www.ktre.com

Texas Conservative Coalition Members: [LINK]

Search Conservative Coalition Members in TTC News Archives HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

“We have been pushing TxDOT to stop these non-compete clauses for some time..."

Hinojosa: Texas Transportation Commission and TxDOT are finally starting to listen to the public.

5/29/08

By: Steve Taylor
The Rio Grande Guardian
Copyright 2008

McALLEN, May 29 - A border lawmaker who will play a big role in reshaping the Texas Department of Transportation says its governing board is starting to pay attention to elected officials and the public.

On Thursday, the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC) agreed that comprehensive development agreements with private road builders will no longer include so-called “non-compete” clauses that prohibit improvements to existing roadways.

“We have been pushing TxDOT to stop these non-compete clauses for some time and finally the pressure is paying off,” said state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen. “Now, it looks as though TxDOT is responding to the concerns of the public and the legislature.”

Hinojosa is a member of the Sunset Commission, a panel comprising House and Senate members that plans to take a long, hard, look at TxDOT this summer.

Under new guiding principles and policies, TxDOT and governmental entity, such as a Regional Mobility Authority, will be able to construct, reconstruct, expand, rehabilitate or maintain any roadway that is near or intersects with any roadway under the CDA.

The new guidelines will govern the development, construction and operation of toll road projects on the state highway system and the Trans-Texas Corridor. TTC Commission Chair Deirdre Delisi said the principles approved Thursday reflect the comments the TTC has received from Texas drivers, legislators and members of its citizen advisory committees.

“Texans deserve a clear, straightforward explanation of what we are doing to solve our transportation challenges and how we are doing it,” Delisi said.

“The Texas Legislature shares our commitment to improving highway safety and creating economic opportunity, and they expect us to meet these goals in keeping with our state's tradition of protecting the rights of property owners.”

Delisi said all state highway facilities, including the Trans-Texas Corridor, will be completely owned by the state of Texas at all times. Three other principles were affirmed by the TTC:

* All Comprehensive Development Agreements will include provisions that allow TxDOT to purchase or "buy back" the interest of a private developer in a CDA at any time if buying back the project would be in the best financial interest of the state.

* The Texas Transportation Commission shall approve, in a public meeting, the initial toll rates charged for the use of a toll project on the state highway system and the methodology for increasing the amount of tolls. All rate-setting actions will come after consultation with appropriate local metropolitan planning organizations.

* Only new lanes added to an existing highway will be tolled, and there will be no reduction in the number of non-tolled lanes that currently exist.

“These principles will help guide TxDOT as we work to improve our state's traffic congestion and air quality problems,” Delisi said.

Hinojosa said he was pleased with the TTC was responding to the wishes of the public and to lawmakers. “Transportation is not a private matter. We may lease our roads to private corporations to help with construction and for tolling but they belong to the people of Texas,” he said.

Hinojosa said he was particularly pleased that in future all toll fees will be vetted at a public hearing.

“Chair Delisi is reaching out to the legislature and the public. That is a very good sign,” Hinojosa said. “It is important we have open lines of communication. That does not mean we will not have bumps in the road but when they do arise we will be better able to deal with them.”

During a speech to the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s legislative affairs committee recently, Hinojosa was particularly hard on TxDOT and the TTC. “Next session you will see us do several things. We intend to rein in TxDOT. We are going after them, period. We want them to be more responsive. We set policy, they don’t,” Hinojosa said.

Delisi said that the Trans-Texas Corridor implementation plan "Crossroads of the Americas," should be updated to reflect changes in the state's transportation challenges since it was first released in June of 2002.

“As we work to develop important projects like a parallel corridor to I-35 and the long-awaited I-69, we will work toward meeting our goals with these important principles in mind,” Delisi said.

There was a huge outcry from South Texas ranchers when TxDOT unveiled preliminary plans to build TTC-69 to the west of Highway 281. Delisi said that in recognition of the legislature's commitment to protecting landowners' property rights TxDOT would always consider the use of existing right of way that satisfies the purpose and need of the project as a possible project location when conducting environmental studies.

She also said that to the extent practical, TxDOT will plan and design facilities so that a landowner's property is not severed into two or more separate tracts. She said the agency wants to preserve the original shape of the property wherever possible.

Hinojosa is not the only South Texas legislator taking a critical look at TTC and TxDOT. State Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, and state Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, have criticized the geographical balance of the TTC board.

“South Texas has been grossly underrepresented on the commission for many years. A review of the commission's history reveals that, of the past thirty-five years, there has only been one commissioner from south of San Antonio and he served for less than one year,” Ortiz said, in a statement earlier this month.

© 2008 The Rio Grande Guardian www.riograndeguardian.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

Rats scramble to rearrange deck chairs on the Trans-Texas Titanic

Transportation officials adopt toll policy

5/29/08

By KELLEY SHANNON
The Associated Press
Copyright 2008

AUSTIN — Transportation Commission Chair Deirdre Delisi, whose political ties to Gov. Rick Perry drew criticism when he appointed her, led her first meeting Thursday and expressed a desire to build public trust in the transportation agency.

The commissioners adopted an order governing toll projects and the Trans-Texas Corridor and set out to improve citizen and legislative access to Texas Department of Transportation's financial data.

"There's a lot more that we can do ... so that there is the public trust," Delisi said.

The commission unanimously agreed that all Texas highways will be owned by the state, not private developers; that the state may buy back the interest of a private road developer; that only expansions to existing highways will be tolled and existing free lanes won't be reduced; and that "non-compete clauses" will be banned, meaning no state contract will limit improvements to nearby existing roads.

The order also calls for an attempt to minimize disturbing private property and to consider using existing rights of way for roads.

The clarifying statement came in response to public criticism during the early planning stages of the Trans Texas Corridor, Perry's ambitious long-term plan to contract with private companies to build toll roads throughout the state.

Opponents remained skeptical. Terri Hall, director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom said that if TxDOT expands or builds a competing road, the toll contractor could require compensation from taxpayers for any resulting loss in toll revenue.

David Stall, who operates the CorridorWatch.org with his wife, Linda, said the state had always intended to own the toll roads that it leased to private operators.

The new rules also call for only new lanes to be tolled, but Stall said that if TxDOT continues to rely on toll financing for new projects, it means "that they are not intending to expand existing free highways beyond the current expansion plans."

Initial phases of the Trans Texas Corridor are a toll highway that would run roughly parallel to part of Interstate 35, and Interstate 69, a road that would be constructed from Northeast Texas to the Rio Grande Valley

Perry rolled out the plan in 2002. Initial phases of the Trans Texas Corridor are a toll highway that would run roughly parallel to part of Interstate 35, and Interstate 69, a new road that would be constructed from northeast Texas to the Rio Grande Valley.

"The action of the Commission today helps get transportation policy moving in a positive direction," said state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, an Irving Republican and vice president of the Texas Conservative Coalition, which supported the new commission order.

Sen. John Carona, a Dallas Republican and chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, said the transportation department is a troubled agency. He has been outspoken in saying there were others more qualified than Delisi to lead the commission and that her appointment was a purely political move by Perry, a fellow Republican.

That said, Carona added that he is optimistic Delisi will strive to get the agency and commission on track. They have suffered from poor communication and "public policy that is tone deaf to the citizens of the state," he said.

Delisi displayed a take-charge approach in Thursday's meeting when she named her other four commissioners to two subcommittees to work with agency staffers on transparency in transportation financial documents and on market valuation transparency for road projects.

"Just get moving. Get it done," Delisi said.

Perry appointed Delisi, his former gubernatorial chief of staff and former campaign manager, along with Fort Worth area tollway official William Meadows, to the commission last month.

As commission chair, Delisi takes over a job formerly held by another close Perry ally, the late Ric Williamsson, who died Dec. 30.

In other business, the commissioners heard Thursday from regional transportation authorities about pending road projects.

The commission approved a $19.8 million financing request from the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority to pay for right-of-way and engineering costs for a proposed toll project along the U.S. Highway 281 corridor north of Loop 1604

Chronicle reporter Rad Sallee contributed to this story.

© 2008 The Associated Press www.ap.org

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"The TTC-69 Tier I DEIS has failed to meet important environmental standards."

Farm Bureau says TTC fails environmental standards

05/29/2008

Waller County News-Citizen
Copyright 2008

WALLER COUNTY - Local farmers and ranchers charge that the I-69/Trans-Texas Corridor Tier One Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has failed to meet important environmental standards.

David Groschke, Waller County Farm Bureau president, says that these failures are indicative of the problems that exist with the entire Trans-Texas Corridor.

"Because these environmental standards have not been met, the Texas Department of Transportation should seriously consider alternatives to its current model," Groschke said.

According to Groschke, there are three main reasons that the DEIS is flawed:

1. It limits its analysis to alternatives that fit the TTC '"vision'' of multimodal transportations corridor, despite the lack of traffic data that suggest a need for such a corridor, and that none of the Congressional enactments make any such suggestions for 1-69.

2. The DEIS makes no attempt to analyze the potential environmental impacts that an 1-69 multimodal corridor as compared to simply upgrading existing rights of way.

3. The DEIS has also largely ignored the potential impacts to natural resources, including agricultural land, from the construction of a new 1-69 corridor.

"We encourage all of our members to let the Texas Department of Transportation know how the feel about this, especially since it has to the potential to so negatively impact our industry," Groschke said.

© 2008 Houston Community Newspapers www.hcnonline.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi said that she believes that the corridor project is still viable and will remain so despite rising gas prices."

Texas' private toll road developers lose compete clause, officials say

May. 29, 2008

By GORDON DICKSON
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2008

AUSTIN -- The Texas Department of Transportation will no longer guarantee private toll road developers that free roads won't be built near their projects, officials said Wednesday.

Until now, toll road developers have been able to negotiate a clause in their contracts with the state guaranteeing that no competing roads would be built to draw traffic away from their project. At least one turnpike in Austin has such a clause.

But critics have long said that so-called noncompete clauses are evidence that privately run toll projects -- including the ambitious Trans-Texas Corridor -- put too much power in the hands of private, often foreign-owned companies.

In response, the Texas Transportation Commission Thursday is expected to approve guiding principles for future projects, including language that bans noncompete clauses. The state will also no longer include language in contracts to compensate developers for revenue lost because of construction of new roads, said Amadeo Saenz, executive director of the Transportation Department.

The principles will put in writing what the agency already practices in negotiating toll projects, Deputy Executive Director Steve Simmons said.

"The message wasn't getting out, so we thought it was time to reaffirm," Simmons said Wednesday.

Possible actions

Other guiding principles the commission is expected to approve Thursday:

• Toll roads will remain public property, even if leased to a private entity.

• The state may buy back a toll project from a developer at any time.

• Toll rates will be set in a public meeting, with input from local officials.

• The agency will use existing rights of way whenever possible and avoid chopping private land into two or more pieces.

A closer look

Austin example: A contract between the state and developers prohibits roads from being built within 10 miles of the Central Texas Turnpike in Austin. Since that turnpike was planned, a state law was enacted that limits noncompete clauses to four miles from a toll road. During the 2009 legislative session, lawmakers could do away with the clauses altogether.

Trans-Texas Corridor: On Wednesday, state transportation officials downplayed assertions that the agency, by adopting the guiding principles, is trying to salvage the Trans-Texas Corridor plan originally unveiled by Gov. Rick Perry in 2002. Perry's vision was to build a network of toll roads, rail lines and utility lines across Texas, with the first corridor running roughly parallel to the Interstate 35 corridor from Dallas-Fort Worth to San Antonio.

Critics: They've attacked the plan on several fronts, including saying it will cut across family farms and bring truck traffic through areas that don't want it. Several lawmakers have said they no longer believe that the Trans-Texas Corridor can be built as drawn up, because of widespread opposition statewide.

Supporters: New commission Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi said Wednesday that she believes that the corridor project is still viable and will remain so despite rising gas prices.

Local input

Dozens of North Texas officials are expected to address the commission Thursday. They will ask it to allow greater flexibility in regional transportation planning and to allow locally generated toll road revenue to be kept in a Metroplex bank rather than sent to Austin.

Also Thursday, new Commissioners Bill Meadows of Fort Worth and Delisi, of Austin, will take their seats.

Talking transportation

The Texas Transportation Commission meets at 9 a.m. in Austin.

Several dozen North Texas leaders are expected to address the commission, including Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and North Richland Hills Mayor Oscar Trevino.

Can't go? No problem. Watch the meeting from the comfort of your computer at www.txdot.gov. High-speed Internet access is required.
Gordon Dickson, 817-685-3816.

gdickson@star-telegram.com

© 2008 Fort Worth Star-Telegram www.star-telegram.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"We'll keep reporting on the NAFTA superhighway so the little darlings can finally figure out what is going on in this country should they want to."

NAFTA Superhighway



DOBBS: "Some of the morons in the mainstream media haven't got a clue, but oh do they have a voice. "

Aired May 28, 2008 - 19:00 ET

LOU DOBBS TONIGHT
Cable News Network
Copyright 2008

DOBBS: Well open borders advocates are refusing to acknowledge rising evidence of plans for a NAFTA superhighway. Many in the mainstream media absolutely refuse to acknowledge the reality. The plans could be a major step toward that North American Union of the United States, Canada and Mexico.

President Bush says opponents of a NAFTA superhighway in his view are laying out a conspiracy. Senator Obama says he sees no evidence of a North American Union. Even some news organizations are criticizing me for raising the issue.

"TIME" magazine journalist Joe Klein accused me of, "spewing false inflammatory nonsense". So we asked Bill Tucker to report on the issue. He found there's plenty of evidence of plans for new transportation links between Mexico and Canada and only in my opinion a fool would refuse to see those links.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is no NAFTA superhighway. Not officially. Some even call it the invention of the far right wing, but some politicians find the denials almost laughable.

REP. TED POE (R), TEXAS: The folks in Washington are in denial about the super NAFTA highway or whatever you want to call it. It's the concept that there will be a highway, free trade from Mexico through the central part of the United States all the way to Canada.

TUCKER: In Texas planning a development is under way for what are officially called transportation corridors. The Trans Texas Corridor, I-69, a combination of rail lines, utility lines, car and truck lanes, plan to be as wide as three football fields laid end to end.

It will be financed by a private foreign company. Most likely Spain, Cintra, who will then own the lease on the road and the revenue generated by the tolls. Texas may use eminent domain to lay claim to some of the land needed to build it. For an imaginary road there's a lot of money and effort involved in some very real opposition.

TERRI HALL, TEXASTURF.ORG: There's just no doubt that this is happening. We've been to the public hearings. We've seen the presentations. We've seen the documents. We waded through them and there's a whole lot more groups besides just ours. And we've got Farm Bureau, Sierra Club, a whole host of groups from the left and the right.

TUCKER: In Kansas a resolution opposing the superhighway overwhelmingly passed the State House.

JUDY MORRISON, KANSAS STATE LEGISLATURE: The documentation is there and some of it has been obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, so I think that when you read this it is very hard to believe.

TUCKER: The lawmakers concerned about the impact of increased traffic flowing into Kansas City where an intermodal center known as the Kansas City Smart Port is being developed to capitalize on flow of good from Mexico's Port of Lazaro Cardenas to the nation's heartland.

The Smart Port Web site says it offers quote, "the heart of a rail corridor spanning coast to coast across the U.S. and extending from Canada to Mexico, a NAFTA railway. And what drives it all? Imports, the U.S. Business and Industry Council, a business group, says in the past 10 years imports from and passing through Mexico rose by 326 percent, reaching almost $211 billion last year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCKER: And according to the Texas Department of Transportation, three-quarters of all the traffic from Mexico to the United States comes across the Texas border and all that traffic they say needs to be accommodated somehow and, Lou, it's hard for an imaginary road to accommodate that much real traffic.

DOBBS: It's what happens when you have, let's say, so-called mainstream journalists in what I would call Napoleonic denial. They're laughable. They are so arrogant in their ignorance of these issues and yet the little delititions (ph) step in to it as if they know something.

They think it's like political reporting that they can simply bring an impressionistic brush across the sweep and that that will pass for facts. Good job. We'll keep reporting on the NAFTA superhighway so the little darlings can finally figure out what in the heck is going on in this country should they want to.

It's inconvenient to the orthodoxy and the establishment press of course as it is the establishment of political parties who would love to see this accommodation take place irrespective of the discomfort, the dislocation that it would cause American citizens and property owners. Thanks, Bill Tucker.

Well Congressman Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate who has come out against the NAFTA superhighway. In point of fact, he's the only candidate who even acknowledges it exists. Up next, dangerous imports from communist China pouring into this country. Do you believe that this administration will ever figure out that it has a responsibility to the American consumer that frankly is of a greater importance than their relationship with communist China? We'll have that report.

© 2008 CNN: transcripts.cnn.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

Texas Transportation Commissioners roll out 'policy' PR stunt to deflect criticism

Non-competes now a non-starter with TxDOT

May 28, 2008

By Ben Wear
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2008

Non-compete clauses for tollways would be a non-starter under a policy the Texas Transportation Commission will consider Thursday.

Such language in toll road contracts, which generally prohibit a toll road owner (such as the Texas Department of Transportation) from building or expanding a nearby free road, or require compensation for doing so, have been controversial in Texas and elsewhere. TxDOT’s contract with Cintra-Zachry, a Spanish and American consortium that will build and operate a southern section of Texas 130, requires TxDOT to pay up if it makes certain highway improvements within 10 miles of the road.

The commission Thursday will consider approving a “minute order” (what TxDOT calls its version of ordinances) prohibiting “any limitations or prohibitions on improvements needed to existing or future highways.” The new policy, which the commission could amend or eliminate in the future at its choosing, goes farther than a 2007 state law allowing such non-compete clauses to apply only within four miles of a new tollway.

The minute order does not say explicitly that tollway contracts could not require TxDOT to pay compensation, as is the case with current contracts. But at a briefing with transportation reporters today, TxDOT deputy executive director Steve Simmons said the intent of the language is that “we have the right to build any facility.” With no compensation? “No compensation,” Simmons said.

The order, in what appears to be a conciliatory message to the Legislature, also reiterates other provisions the Legislature put into law last session. To wit: TxDOT will own title to tollways, not any private entities hired to build and operate them at a profit; every contract with a private tollway operator must have a “buy back” clause allowing TxDOT to take over a tollway before the end of a lease (although the minute order is silent as to what the terms might be); and “only added capacity to an existing highway” will be subject to tolls.

Also, the order pledges that TxDOT will always consider using existing right of way when setting the route of an expansion. That’s a direct nod to all the unhappiness in rural Texas about the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor supertollways in the I-35 and I-69 corridors.

The language doesn’t mean, of course, that TxDOT won’t build TTC-35 across farmland several miles away from I-35. Simmons, in fact, acknowledged that widening I-35 instead of building a new tollway nearby remains a logistical and financial problem. But he said the language could be more meaningful in the I-69 corridor where widening existing roads would be easier.

The commission, which will be holding its first meeting Thursday with new chairwoman Deidre Delisi and new commissioner Bill Meadows, is expected to approve the minute order.


© 2008 Austin American-Statesman www.statesman.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

"Taking our nation back from the ground up.”

Local Commission Demands TTC 35 Re-do

Related Link: Texas 391 Commission Alliance

May 27, 2008

Liberty Matters
Copyright 2008

Four rural cities and their school districts formally demanded the Texas Department of Transportation stop all plans on the Trans-Texas Corridor 35 until a supplemental study is conducted as required under federal law. Fred Kelly Grant, the attorney and associate to the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC), wrote the 26-page request.

The ECTSRPC is the first sub-regional commission formed under the Texas Local Government Code 391, to force coordination with state agencies planning the TTC. “This is the first substantive legal attack on the TTC, and therefore on the NAFTA Superhighway and the North American Trade Agreement,” stated Grant.

If TxDOT complies with the request, it could delay the project for years and the resulting study will reveal the adverse impacts on the human and natural environment, which the agency has ignored.

If they don’t comply with the request, a federal lawsuit will certainly ensue blocking the project in court for years. With four sub-regional planning commissions now in place in Texas, TxDOT must begin coordinating with those local groups before any action can be taken on the TTC-35 and 69.

Stewards of the Range, American Land Foundation, and Texans United for Reform and Freedom have held two regional workshops teaching the mechanics of forming 391 commissions.

One attendee made the comment after learning about coordination: “You’re not just working to stop the TTC, you’re taking our nation back from the ground up.”

To learn more about coordination, go to www.Stewards.us.

LINK: Commissions Request to TxDOT for the Supplemental Environmental Study, 5-20-08

© 2008 Liberty Matters www.libertymatters.org

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE

Chairman of the Sunset Advisory Commission illegally pays wife with campaign donations.

Lawmakers pay wives with campaign donations

When ethics complaints were filed last year, state representatives reacted differently.

May 26, 2008

By Laylan Copelin
Austin American-Statesman
Copyright 2008

When ethics complaints were filed last year accusing state Reps. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, of illegally paying their wives with campaign donations, they reacted differently.

Eissler admitted he was wrong, stopped paying his wife to run his legislative office and said he had agreed with the Texas Ethics Commission to pay back the $52,000 out of his pocket.

Isett chose to fight the complaint. He stopped paying his and his wife's accounting company to manage the campaign's books but began paying a separate company that she created in response to the ethics complaint. And he upped the amount, from $36,300 over the previous 2½ years to $39,158 last year, or half of every dollar he raised in 2007.

Critics say Isett is testing the legal limits in a way that could highlight a loophole — paying a spouse's company — for other lawmakers to use.

Both men deny intentionally violating the law.

State law prohibits lawmakers or candidates from using political donations to pay themselves, their spouses or their dependent children. The intent is to prevent a legislator from living off campaign donors, who frequently are lobbyists representing clients. The law was passed in 1991 in response to a couple of senators who used campaign dollars to subsidize their family businesses.

Paying spouses for campaign services is rare, according to a review of recent campaign reports, but there's a growing trend of lawmakers using political donations for things unrelated to campaigning. Lawmakers without opponents are using their campaign cash to supplement their staff's salaries, pay for travel or living expenses in Austin, and lease planes or luxury cars used in their official duties.

Neither Eissler nor Isett drew opponents this year.

Eissler said he saw Speaker Tom Craddick paying his adult daughter six figures with campaign donations. He said he didn't realize that the law allows lawmakers to pay their adult children with campaign dollars but not their spouses and dependent children living in their household.

"I didn't understand the difference," Eissler said. "When I found out you can't do that, I stopped."

Isett criticizes the law as ambiguous. He denied that he's directing campaign funds to his wife to supplement his income from the U.S. Naval Reserve and the Texas House of Representatives. House members are paid $600 a month.

Isett, a certified public accountant, said he no longer has an accounting practice because of his deployment overseas for seven months in 2006 and his legislative workload. He has just become chairman of the powerful Sunset Advisory Commission, a joint House-Senate body that oversees state agencies and, by extension, any industries the agencies regulate.

As a CPA, Isett said he read the law differently than lawyers who specialize in campaign finance. The law refers to personal services, he said, and he thought his wife, trained as an accountant, was providing a professional service to the campaign and was not covered by that provision.

"As accountants we have a different understanding and frame of reference about what these words mean," said Isett, referring to Internal Revenue Service guidelines on professional services.

After hiring a lawyer to represent him before the Ethics Commission, Isett said, his wife created the company "to bring us back into compliance."

While the law forbids direct payments to lawmakers, a spouse or dependent children, it allows a lawmaker to reimburse a legislator's company for "actual expenditures" but not for a profit.

For example, a lawmaker who owns a printing company could reimburse his company for printing campaign materials, but he can't pay himself a profit.

The law says nothing about a spouse's company.

Isett said his wife, who works out of their home, has a successful business as a contract comptroller for several small companies. He said she charges his campaign the same rate she would other clients.

In addition to being a mother of seven, Cheri Isett also filled in for her husband as a legislator for the seven months in 2006 when he was deployed overseas.

Isett said his payments to his wife's company consumed half of his 2007 campaign fundraising because he raised only $77,200. He said he raised so little because he hasn't had a serious opponent in years.

Isett said his wife accounts for donations, writes thank-you notes to contributors, maintains a database of donors and files reports with the Ethics Commission. Through a spokesman, he said the 2007 payments to his wife's company jumped dramatically because of computer problems that required data to be re-entered and the expense of responding to the ethics complaints.

Isett also paid his oldest daughter about $9,000 from March 2004 through March 2006 for secretarial services, database management and a $3,756 commission for fundraising. She worked for the campaign for two years immediately after high school graduation.

Although Isett reported his daughter as a dependent child on his personal financial reports, he said she actually was living on her own and was not a dependent those two years.

Craig McDonald, executive director of Texans for Public Justice, a group that advocates tougher campaign finance laws, said it appears Isett might have found a loophole to use campaign money to help support his family.

"When you depend on the money from lobbyists to put food on your family's table, it's hard to say 'no' when they come looking for your vote," McDonald said. "What Isett has set up is merely a charade."

Tom "Smitty" Smith, a longtime advocate for tougher campaign finance laws with Public Citizen, agreed.

He said Isett was being "creative" in his legal interpretation while ignoring the intent of the law.

The Ethics Commission, which has spent a year considering the complaint against Isett, will probably resolve the case before the Legislature returns in 2009.

McDonald said allowing members to pay their spouses through a spouse-owned company could open the floodgates to lawmakers diverting their political donations. He likened it to last year's rent-to-own controversy.

Although state law forbids lawmakers from buying Austin homes with campaign dollars, several lawmakers claimed that their spouses owned the Austin homes and that they paid rent to their spouses with their campaign dollars.

A public uproar prompted the Legislature to outlaw that practice in 2007.

In the meantime, John Corbarruvias, a Democratic activist from Houston who had filed the ethics complaints, has filed a criminal complaint against Isett with the Travis County district attorney's office.

"We're aware of the situation," prosecutor Beverly Matthews said, "but at this time, we're unsure if we have venue."

If Travis County prosecutors don't have jurisdiction, the matter would be in the purview of prosecutors in Isett's home county of Lubbock.

Ethics officials, by law, cannot comment on specific cases without facing the threat of a $10,000 fine.

Isett complained that lawmakers have to interpret an ambiguous law and research the Ethics Commission's database with hundreds of legal opinions.

"You never know you might be doing something wrong," Isett said, "until someone files a complaint."

Yet neither Isett nor Eissler asked the Ethics Commission for advice, as the law allows, before they began paying their wives.

"If we're wrong, we'll pay the money back," Isett said. "We just want to put this behind us."

lcopelin@statesman.com;445-3617

Who pays the tab?

Major campaign donors in 2007 for Reps. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, and Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands.

Isett:

W.E. Ball$3,500

Home care provider, Telephone

Charles Butt$2,500

H-E-B chief executive, San Antonio

William Reagan II$2,500

Outdoor advertising, Austin

Valero PAC$2,500

Energy company, San Antonio

Private Providers Association of Texas$2,100

Austin

Cash on hand$15,621

Eissler:

James Mansour$5,000

Investor, Austin

Charles Miller$5,000

Investor, Houston

Charles Butt$5,000

H-E-B chief executive, San Antonio

ACT for Texas Classroom$5,000

Teachers Association, Austin

Cash on hand$190,977

Source: Texas Ethics Commission


© 2008 Austin American-Statesman www.statesman.com

To search TTC News Archives click HERE

To view the Trans-Texas Corridor Blog click HERE