“The Legislature continues to say 'no' to private toll roads, and TxDOT continues to find new ways to come up with the authority for them.”

Waco's Dunnam selected to chair Texas House committee on toll roads

3/27/10

By Michael W. Shapiro
Waco Tribune-Herald
Copyright 2010

State House Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, this week picked state Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, to be chairman of a House subcommittee on toll roads. Dunnam opposes privately run toll roads.

Dunnam said Thursday that as subcommittee chairman, he intends to provide legislators with a way to strip the Texas Department of Transportation of its authority to lease toll roads to for-profit companies.

“The Legislature continues to say no to private toll roads, and TxDOT continues to come up with new ways to come up with the authority for them,” Dunnam said Thursday.

Dunnam said his subcommittee will try to explain in simple terms “each one of these roundabout ways they might find funding for toll roads, and if (legislators) want to stop that, provide direction on how to do that.”

Toll roads have been a hot topic in Texas since Gov. Rick Perry announced plans to build the Trans-Texas Corridor in 2002.

State officials laid out a public-private partnership for the highway — which would have paralleled Interstate 35 — between the state of Texas, a San Antonio road construction company and a European toll-road developer.

But public opposition to the highway was strong and included concerns about the amount of private land the state was going to have to take through eminent domain.

Department of Transportation officials declared the corridor project dead last year.

Dunnam said, however, that transportation officials may still have methods of building private toll roads. He pointed to private toll roads built with funds from a federal program called the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or TIFIA.

The first road ever built under the TIFIA program, a 9.3-mile highway in Southern California, declared bankruptcy this week.

The toll road, operated by a subsidiary of an Australian conglomerate, was pricier than expected because of construction delays. It also missed revenue targets because far fewer drivers were using the road than originally anticipated.

Dispute over private firms

Advocates of private toll roads have noted that often private companies are willing to make investments in new highways when money is hard to come by.

But many in the legislature, including Pickett, don’t appear to be convinced that private tolls are the way to go.

Pickett butted heads with the Department of Transportation during the last legislative session.

Pickett said he chose Dunnam to lead the subcommittee because Dunnam “really understands how Texans feel about (toll roads), and he has demonstrated a willingness to ask the tough questions. And now is the time for tough questions.”

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

757-5707

© 2010 Waco Tribune-Herald: www.wacotrib.com

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Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission files petition with FHA demanding TxDOT's TTC-35 DEIS be withdrawn

Group demands complete withdrawal of Corridor DEIS

3/25/10

Susan Rigdway Garry
Anti-Corridor/Rail Expansion (ACRE)
Copyright 2010

The Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC), which was instrumental in bringing the Trans-Texas Corridor in Central Texas (TTC-35) environmental process to a halt, has taken another step to completely kill the Corridor through Central Texas.

The five mayors whose cities and respective school districts form the ECTSRPC have filed a petition with the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) demanding that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that was filed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) be withdrawn.

In the fall of 2009, TxDOT asked the FHA to issue a “no action” or “no build” decision on the DEIS. Holland Mayor Mae Smith, who is also president of the ECTSRPC, explains, “If the FHA issues a ‘no action’ record of decision on the environmental study as requested by TxDOT, the study remains available to use in the future should the governor change his mind and decide to build the TTC.”

According to information released by the ECTSRPC, “Technically, an environmental study can be reused unless it is completely withdrawn from consideration and discarded by the lead agency, which is the Federal Highway Administration.” The Texas Legislature has turned against the Corridor and did not reauthorize the method of financing it, but TxDOT’s power to create the Corridor is still in statute. Bills to remove the Corridor from statute did not make it through the last session of the Legislature.

To see the “Petition to Withdraw the DEIS,” go to www.stewards.us.


© 2010 ACRE: www.acretexas.blogspot.com

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"Texas teachers unite, Perry's messing with your retirement!" Pension funds to feed risky toll road privatization schemes in Texas

Teachers beware of Perry’s plan

3/24/10

Neal Morgan
The Port Arthur News
Copyright 2010

If there are any former school teachers in the Texas Teacher Retirement System (TRS) or any active teachers who monthly pay into TRS, who read my column, I pray you read this one.

A former teacher, I am a member of TRS and have said for decades now that teachers could unite and run the entire State of Texas if a majority of them so decided. They proved that when they fired Mark White.

Now teachers, retired or not, beware for your retirement money if you don't defeat Rick Perry. Please read on...

Texas Gov. Rick “Goodhair” Perry, on June 22, 2003, signed into law House Bill 3588. It was the HB that created what came to be known as “The Trans-Texas Corridor” that would stretch some 800 miles, from Mexico to Oklahoma. The bill included a provision that allowed existing highways to be converted into toll roads.

HB 3588 also made a provision that Texas could turn such a toll road over to a private entity. Therefore, under Rick Perry's provisions, an existing state highway, that was already built using your tax money and mine, could be turned over to a private company that would charge us a toll for driving on it. But it wasn't very long after 3588 became law that people, especially those in Central Texas, saw what widespread effects the law would have.

It was one of those bills that pass easily, under relative obscurity, because our legislators have their attention focused elsewhere. Or because they might receive campaign donations if they slip it through quietly.

Central Texans jumped on it early and fought Perry's attempts to turn part of US 183 into a toll road when it was already near opening up as a free highway, paid for by taxpayers.

Then there was the “seven-way plan” in Central Texas, which would come on top of five other toll roads already under construction. Texans didn't like it in the least. But the Texas Senate Research Center said, “current law authorizes the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) to convert an existing non-tolled highway or segment of a highway into a toll road. It could be done if the county commissioners court in which the road exists consents and the conversion is approved by the voters of the affected county or municipality.

Perry's idea for a Trans-Texas Corridor Tollway, it was obvious, did not appeal to Texans. It cost too much, it was too big, it would take up too much private land, break up family farms and ranches, and would be owned by private companies.

Furthermore, in the case of the Trans-Texas Corridor, it would be built and owned by a Spanish company. It was three years after the corridor was dreamed up that TXDOT went out of its way to form a close relationship between the State of Texas and Cintra, a company based in Spain. Cintra agreed to build a 316 mile section of the TT Corridor for the right to collect and keep the tolls for 50 years.

As before mentioned, it would also mean that almost 600,000 acres of private property would have to be seized under eminent domain laws. If that happened, the land taken could have included homes, churches, schools, and businesses, not to mention thousands of acres of ranch land. So it isn't too tough to imagine how the idea was received by Texans.

Then, after Cintra and Perry's appointees at TXDOT agreed, it became known that a top aide of Governor Goodhair had been Cintra's lobbyist before he went to work for Perry! Dan Shelley, Perry's aide, who was called a “Legislative Director” (whatever the hell that means) worked for Cintra up until three months before it was selected for the $7.2 billion Trans-Texas project. Shelley also, while he was a Cintra lobbyist, met five times with TXDOT for Cintra before the multibillion-dollar road contract.

So, after digesting all that, TEACHERS AND RETIRED TEACHERS, read the following quote from “Texas Monthly” magazine (12/09)...

“...The removal and replacement of board members to achieve a political end is happening throughout state government. One of the most troubling examples occurred (in October '09) at the $88 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Perry ousted chairman Linus Wright, a former Dallas Independent School District superintendent, and replaced him with a board member who has served on his campaign finance committee.

“Earlier, the governor's allies on the board appointed a Perry staffer to be the agency's deputy director. These things don't happen unless there's a purpose, and the likely purpose in this case is to achieve a board majority in favor of investing the trust funds of retired teachers in new toll roads, a high risk policy that Perry and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst have advocated.”

Texas teachers unite, Perry's messing with your retirement!

Neal Morgan of Nederland is a retired educator.

© 2010 The Port Arthur News: www.panews.com

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"The first US toll road to tap the federally subsidized TIFIA loan program, has filed for bankruptcy."

First US TIFIA road files for protection

3/24/10

Reuters
Copyright 2010

NEW YORK, March 24 (Project Finance International) - South Bay Expressway, the first US toll road to tap the federally subsidized TIFIA loan program, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The 9.3-mile electronic tollroad is located in southern California.

Toll collections have been dramatically under projections since the road opened in late 2007. The road is owned by Macquarie (MQG.AX) funds - 50% by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, the US fund owned by large institutional investors and 50% by the Australian listed Macquarie Atlas Roads.

South Bay Expressway currently has US$340m outstanding of a US$400m construction loan converted into a term loan facility according to bankruptcy filings. The term loan was arranged in 2003 with BBVA (BBVA.MC) as admin agent and Depfa as co-lead, and matures in 2021. Other lenders to the project include Allied Irish, Bank of Ireland, BNP Paribas (BNP.FR), Commonwealth Bank, DVB Bank, DZ Bank and HSH Nordbank.

In addition, South Bay took out a US$140m, 35-year TIFIA loan, under which the first mandatory interest payment was due in 2011. That facility now totals US$170m after the capitalization of US$30m in interest.

South Bay sought bankruptcy protection after attempts to negotiate a settlement with ORC, a contractor to the tollroad, failed to result in a settlement. ORC has made claims totaling US$600m, which is disputed by South Bay Expressway.

deirdre.fretz@thomsonreuters.com - www.pfie.com

© 2010 Reuters: www.reuters.com

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“We know that the governor and TxDOT are playing a political shell game by asking for a 'No Action' option on the Trans-Texas Corridor.”

PRESS RELEASE

Mayors Demand Trans Texas Corridor DEIS be Withdrawn

3/22/10

CONTACT: Mae Smith, President 254-657-2460
Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission
Copyright 2010

Holland, Texas ---Five mayors in Central Texas have filed a petition with Federal Highway Administration demanding that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement filed by the Texas Department of Transportation on the I-35 and I-69 Trans-Texas Corridors be withdrawn.

“We know that the governor and TxDOT are playing a political shell game by asking for a “No Action” option on the Trans-Texas Corridor,” explained Mayor Mae Smith, president of the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission. “If the FHA issues a ‘no action’ record of decision on the environmental study as requested by TxDOT, the study remains available to use in the future should the governor change his mind and decide to build the TTC,” Smith added.

For two and a half years, five mayors and their respective school districts fought against the governor and his transportation department through their ECTSRPC to prevent them from building a 1,200 foot-wide toll road through their commission’s jurisdiction in Eastern Bell and Western Milam counties.

This is our third petition with the Federal Highway Administration showing all the flaws of TxDOT’s environmental study,” stated Ralph Snyder, a Holland businessman and member of the planning commission. “Since TxDOT announced they have formally withdrawn the TTC from consideration, there is no viable project legally before the FHA and they simply must withdraw it from consideration,” Snyder said.

Technically, an environmental study can be reused unless it is completely withdrawn from consideration and discarded by the lead agency, which is the Federal highway Administration. In 2009, the Texas legislature rejected the governor’s and TxDOT’s plans to fund the TTC and before the primary elections, TxDOT announced the TTC was “dead.”

However, on February 1, 2010, during a joint hearing of the Senate and house Transportation Committees, Amadeo Saenz, executive director of TxDOT, was asked by Senator John Carona “If TxDOT changed its mind tomorrow and decided to build the Trans-Texas Corridor, does it have the statutory authority to do so?” Saenz answered “Yes.”

“As much work we’ve put in on this issue, we do not want to leave any stone unturned,” said Mayor Ronnie White of Little River-Academy, who also serves as a board member of the ECTSRPC.

The ECTSRPC was formed under Section 391 of the Local Government Code that forced TxDOT to coordinate their plans with the five cities that all said “no Trans-Texas Corridor shall be built through our jurisdiction.” A copy of the “Petition to Withdraw the DEIS can be obtained at www.stewards.us.

© 2010 Texas 391 Commission Alliance: 391texas.blogspot.com

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