When a Red Light Is Really Green
September 4th, 2007 at 6:52 am
Looks like the Texas Department of Transportation has its own agenda in Washington, D.C. Last week, several Texas newspapers reported that TXDOT is lobbying Congress to convert your favorite freeway into a tollway. Texas Legislators are aghast at the department’s plan, euphemistically called ‘Forward Momentum’ — that would change federal law to allow the use of equity capital to toll such oft-used roadways as existing interstates.
Rick Perry’s spokesman Robert Black says it’s all okay, since free highways cannot be converted to tollways without the approval of local voters. But it’s hard to nail down what is crazier here. I mean, is it easier to imagine tolls on I-35 or a state agency with its own paid federal lobbyists trying to circumvent the stated goals of almost every lawmaker in Texas?
To make matters worse, in February members of the Texas Senate specifically chided TXDOT for this kind of behavior. You can watch video of it here (the relevant part of the February 5 Senate Finance meeting starts 1:59:00). But, in case watching Senate hearings is not your thing, let me just summarize.
The executive director of TXDOT and a commissioner from the Texas Transportation Commission were asked by senators about $1 million spent on lobbying contracts for an outfit called the Rodman Company. Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) managed to confirm that upwards of $500,000 was being spent by the agency to lobby D.C. on efforts relating to the Trans-Texas Corridor. Despite the fact that TTC has been sold to voters as a project that would require zero taxpayer dollars, TXDOT had apparently been paying private lobbyists to pave the way for federal legislation that would allow the department to move forward on all things TTC. Needless to say, the senators were not pleased.
In the dry language of the Senate Research Center summary:
Senator Shapiro, Senator Ogden, and Senator Whitmire questioned whether these efforts were necessary or effective and stated that the issue should be pursued through Texas’ Congressional delegation rather than private lobbyists. Senator Eltife stated that the expenditure was “wasteful, unnecessary, and disgraceful.”
September 4th, 2007 at 9:22 am
And now Sen. Kirk Watson and other tollers are pushing a plan to shift Austin freeways to tollways!
Smarter options do exist.
In the short term, the $700 million tax dollars shouldn’t be spent on toll roads as Sen. Watson plans, but instead, our tax dollars intended for freeways should be spent on cost efficient non-toll solutions such as: Variable speed limits, ramp metering, HOV lanes without tolls, reversible/barriered lanes for peak periods, parkways (like fix290.org), pass through financing, more arterial lane miles, better incident management and advance computerized control of traffic signals.
In the long term we must index the gas tax. The Texas Transportation Institute report states that more tolls are simply NOT needed - that indexing the gas tax and using the revenue to pay off bonds allows freeways to be built right now.
Once placed, the tolls will NEVER be removed from our public highways. In contrast, the Ledge has the opportunity to index the gas tax every two years.
Sal Costello
Founder of People for Efficient Transportation
http://salcostello.blogspot.com/
September 4th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Thank goodness for Senator Eltife and all like him.
Perhaps it would help if all the gas tax money were used for its stated purpose rather than having a percentage diverted to other uses.
One more example of the Anti-Texans in charge of our government.
September 13th, 2007 at 9:36 am
[…] move comes in the wake of a mini-scandal over the Texas Department of Transportation hiring its own federal lobbyists to push legislation enabling the Trans-Texas Corridor — along with lobbying to allow tolling […]
September 16th, 2007 at 12:32 am
I have dedicated many months of my time to prepare a report of sorts on the DRP. What I have discovered is that the entire fate of Texas is connected to the Surcharge Program. This is because the money from the Unconstitutional program is earmarked for the Tran-Texas Corridor, which is a strategic segment of what is to become a Super Corridor that spans the entire North American Continent.
The state is suspending people’s license over not paying an excessive surcharge fee that is in addition to what you agree to in court. What’s more is the money is going to pay for the Corridor projects, without consent or knowledge or the People or Congress! I believe that spreading the word would enable individuals to better deal with the negative effects that the TX DRP has had on their lives, as well as have a say in their own future.
TX DRP Surcharge Petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/TXDRP07/petition.html
Please SIGN and help spread the word!!
Many Thanks~
Tamara Shippy
tamarashippy@hotmail.com
Have you heard of this yet??
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/nasco.jpg