Time for Taxpayers to Protest
This is no hoax. Quite a few of us Texas residents have been protesting Gov. Perry's proposed Trans-Texas Corridor. But now everyone needs to support the legislation against "buy-back" of federal highways for tolling purposes.
In January 2007 the Texas dept. of transportation (TxDOT) submitted a proposal and request to Congress for legislation that would allow states to "buy back" ownership of sections of federal highways. The proposal also suggested tax breaks for private company investment in such projects.
This request received almost no publicity, altho TxDOT claims four public meetings were held, but were "poorly attended". (I wonder why.) Last week several Texas newspapers picked up on the issue in editorials and lead stories. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) announced she would sponsor legislation opposing this idea, and yesterday she did just that.
http://www.hutchison.senate.gov/pr090507a.html
Why should this matter to you, if you're not a Texas resident? Glad you asked. If the political poobahs of the Lone Star State should manage to get away with such shenanigans, is it not likely that bureaucrats everywhere would be emboldened?
It is true that a 2005 Texas law requires that any tolls to be applied to existing highways must first gain the approval of voters. But a safeguard of this type should not be necessary! Roads that the public has paid for are the property of the public. As TxDOT sees it, highways we paid for with our federal tax dollars would be repurchased with our state tax dollars, and then we would be charged every time we needed to use those roads. How's that for a greedy scam?
Sen. Hutchison's bill introduction is just the first step in a serious struggle. Somewhat similar legislation failed in the last session. We will need strong positive majorities to withstand a possible presidential veto. With all the other urgent issues facing Congress, this important bill will need our close attention. Please contact your state's U.S. senators to request their support for Senate bill 2019. Then contact the U.S. representative for your district with a request to support a compatible bill there. Then ask everyone you know to do the same. A companion bill has not yet been introduced in the House, and that's where inattention is most likely to trip up passage.
This is an urgent matter. The legislation just introduced, even after passage, will not stop the tolling of federal highway sections already approved, such as U. S. 281 north of San Antonio. Before any more approvals are issued, let's stop this nonsense now.
In January 2007 the Texas dept. of transportation (TxDOT) submitted a proposal and request to Congress for legislation that would allow states to "buy back" ownership of sections of federal highways. The proposal also suggested tax breaks for private company investment in such projects.
This request received almost no publicity, altho TxDOT claims four public meetings were held, but were "poorly attended". (I wonder why.) Last week several Texas newspapers picked up on the issue in editorials and lead stories. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) announced she would sponsor legislation opposing this idea, and yesterday she did just that.
http://www.hutchison.senate.gov/pr090507a.html
Why should this matter to you, if you're not a Texas resident? Glad you asked. If the political poobahs of the Lone Star State should manage to get away with such shenanigans, is it not likely that bureaucrats everywhere would be emboldened?
It is true that a 2005 Texas law requires that any tolls to be applied to existing highways must first gain the approval of voters. But a safeguard of this type should not be necessary! Roads that the public has paid for are the property of the public. As TxDOT sees it, highways we paid for with our federal tax dollars would be repurchased with our state tax dollars, and then we would be charged every time we needed to use those roads. How's that for a greedy scam?
Sen. Hutchison's bill introduction is just the first step in a serious struggle. Somewhat similar legislation failed in the last session. We will need strong positive majorities to withstand a possible presidential veto. With all the other urgent issues facing Congress, this important bill will need our close attention. Please contact your state's U.S. senators to request their support for Senate bill 2019. Then contact the U.S. representative for your district with a request to support a compatible bill there. Then ask everyone you know to do the same. A companion bill has not yet been introduced in the House, and that's where inattention is most likely to trip up passage.
This is an urgent matter. The legislation just introduced, even after passage, will not stop the tolling of federal highway sections already approved, such as U. S. 281 north of San Antonio. Before any more approvals are issued, let's stop this nonsense now.
posted by Yuska at
1:59 PM
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