Defending Our Property Rights & Freedom to Travel

Postcards from the lege... 

Capitol update on transportation & property rights 

Rep. Cindy Burkett needs our help! Contact House Transportation Committee & ask them to vote out HB 565, HB 572, & HB 528
GOOD BILL ALERT

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst's bill to a prevent private high speed rail company from exercising eminent domain narrowly passed out of committee yesterday with a 5-4 vote.

Two of our Good Guys, Sen. Van Taylor and Sen. Don Huffines voted AGAINST the bill.

Today, the full Senate passed Kolkhorst's other eminent bill, SB 474, to require landowners legal fees to be reimbursed if the court determines the price initially offered was under valued by more than 20%. This prevents low-balling and forcing a landowner into court to get fair market value for their property.

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HOUSE TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
Several great bills authored by Rep. Cindy Burkett (who sits on the Committee) have already had a hearing and they're going nowhere fast in the House Transportation Committee. We asked you to contact Rep. Burkett's colleagues on the House Transportation Committee members and ask them to:

'Pass HB 565, HB 572, & HB 528 out of committee. We expect and Texans deserve these long-needed toll road reforms.'

To date, NONE of these bills have been voted out of committee.

ACTION ITEM
We're going to try another angle.

Please make two quick calls...
1) Call House Transportation Committee Chair Joe Pickett and ask him to vote these bills out of committee - (512) 463-0596
2) Then call YOUR State Representative and ask them to speak to the members of the Transportation Committee to support these bills and vote them out of committee.

To find out who represents you, go here.

Review of the bills...
HB 565 - To strip private toll corporations of their eminent domain authority.

HB 572 - To subject the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) to sunset review. The NTTA is currently under investigation by the FBI for conflicts of interests with land deals by a board member. They also abuse taxpayers by keeping the toll in place even after a road is paid for using 'system financing' (they keep the toll in place to use those revenues to finance expansion of their 'system'). The NTTA needs a sunset review NOW!

HB 528 - To subject the Regional Mobility Authorities or RMAs (another type of tollway authority) to sunset review. These toll agencies habitually abuse taxpayers with taxpayer-funded lobbyists and PR campaigns to get public buy-in on toll their projects, and even steering contracts to former board members! We want RMAs abolished entirely, but subjecting them to sunset review is a good first step!

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BILLS UP NEXT WEEK
Senate Transportation Committee will meet twice next week. The House Committee notices have NOT been posted yet.

On Monday, April 13 at 10 AM, the committee will hear the ban on red light cameras by Good Guy, Sen. Bob Hall, SB 714, in Rm. E1.016. They've asked for supporters to submit Witness Registration Cards only (and not to orally testify). Unlike our toll road reform bills, Nichols has assured passage of this bill out of his committee.

Senate Transportation Committee Hearing
Wednesday, April 15
8:00 AM
RM E1.016
Texas Capitol Extensions Building
1100 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX

BILL ALERT: SB 1837 & SJR 62
Fill out a card at the back of the room in support of SB 1837 by Sen. Jose Menendez which would require a public vote before a transit authority could spend money on a light rail or street car project. Nichols put his own bill, SJR 62, up for a hearing that would change the Constitution to permanently allow toll authorities to collect surplus toll revenue (as long as they use it on non-toll roads). In other words, this is the EXACT opposite of Kolkhorst's SB 485 that would require the toll to come off the road when it's paid for and end 'system financing' which allows them to collect and use 'surplus' or excess revenue from a toll road to spend elsewhere. It keeps the toll in place in perpetuity!

Turn-in your Witness Registration Form to the clerk at the front of the room. Even if you don't want to testify, registering in favor of the bill will help it get out of committee. Unfortunately, we cannot get our support for a bill on the official record unless you're physically present in Austin when public testimony is open on the bill.
GRIMES COUNTY
TxDOT pressures officials to support tolls on Loop 249
An update from our friends in Grimes County...
TxDOT is trying to get the Grimes County Commissioners Court to RESCIND its previous resolution OPPOSING the SH 249 Toll Road and pass one in favor of it!
 
Gary Husfeld has been appointed to replace Pam Finke as Precinct 4 Commissioner. When running for this office in 2014, Mr. Husfeld expressed an opinion that the SH 249 Toll Road was "a bridge over Grimes County".
 
Please contact the new commissioner and express the expectation that he will continue to pursue the strategy of opposition to the SH 249 toll road that was begun by Commissioner Pam Finke. It would be wrong to assume an office upon appointment, not election, and take actions which were contrary to the desires of his constituents and the goals of Commissioner Finke.

ACTION ITEM
Call Gary Husfeld at 936-873-3925. His county email has not been established yet.
 
The TxDOT continues its attempts to intimidate Grimes County into accepting the SH 249 Toll Road, by threatening to either build the road without frontage roads, or to build it into Grimes County and dump the traffic onto FM 1774 and make no road improvements to handle it. Grimes County Commissioners Court needs to keep its resolution opposing the 249 toll road in Grimes County intact. County Judge Ben Leman continues his efforts to persuade the individual county commissioners to change their vote. He is also putting pressure on the Iola and Anderson town councils to rescind their resolutions.

IF YOU WANT TO STOP THE TOLL ROAD, GET INVOLVED NOW!

Contact the members of Commissioners Court and ask them to continue their opposition to toll roads in Grimes County. Here is the contact information for the County Commissioners and the County Judge:
 
County Judge Ben Leman  936-873-4476        ben.leman@co.grimes.tx.us
 
Precinct 1 J.R. Green 936-395-1010        jgreen3444@yahoo.com          
 
Precinct 2 David Dobyanski  936-203-2801     david.dobyanski@co.grimes.tx.us
 
Precinct 3 Barbara Walker  936-873-3916    barbara.walker@co.grimes.tx.us
 
Precinct 4 Gary Husfeld  936-873-3925
(No email available yet)
 
Also, please attend the next Commissioner Court meeting.

Grimes County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, April 14
9:00 AM
Grimes County Annex
Anderson, TX

It is anticipated that Judge Leman will place the resolution against the toll road on the agenda for a vote to rescind it. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION!

High Speed Rail Update     

Rally and Open Houses  

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RALLY OPPOSING HIGH SPEED RAIL
Tuesday, April 30
7:00 PM
Grimes County Expo Center

It is being planned as a regional event with numerous entities, both public and private, serving as co-sponsors. Initial planning for the event is being coordinated by Grimes Citizen Advisory Group, Texans Against High Speed Rail, and the Grimes County Republican Party.  

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Texas Central Railway to hold
Open Houses on its High Speed Rail
from Dallas to Houston

These open houses are being sponsored by the foreign-owned company, not a governmental entity. So comments do not count on the official record, but it's important to communicate your opposition to this company. 

  

Lancaster
April 9, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Lancaster Recreation Center
1700 Veterans Memorial Parkway
Lancaster, TX 75134

Madisonville
April 10, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Truman Kimbro Convention Center
111 West Trinity
Madisonville, TX 77864

College Station
April 11, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
Lincoln Recreation Center Gymnasium
1000 Eleanor Street
College Station, TX 77840

Navasota
April 11, 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Brosig Auditorium
203 Brosig Ave.
Navasota, Texas 77868

Montgomery
April 11, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Lake Conroe Event Center, Magnolia Hall
19785 HWY 105 West
Montgomery, TX 77356

Ennis
April 16, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Madison Hall
906 South Kaufman
Ennis, TX 75119

Corsicana
April 17, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
IOOF Event Center
601 North 45th Street
Corsicana, TX 75110

Mexia
April 18, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
City of Mexia Convention Center
101 South McKinney Street
Mexia TX, 76667

Teague
April 18, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Teague High School
420 Loop 255
Teague, TX 75860

Jewett
April 18, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Jewett Civic Center
111 North Robinson
Jewett, TX 75846

Cypress
April 23, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Tin Hall
14800 Tin Hall Road
Cypress, TX 77429

Waller
April 24, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Waller High School
20950 Fields Store Road
Waller, TX 77484

SAN ANTONIO
I-35 public hearing Tuesday   

Downtown study could means tolls on every freeway 

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Though the I-35 downtown study is in the early stages of development, what the study finds will largely determine the outcome of what happens to not only I-35, but also EVERY freeway into and out of downtown.

At one of the open houses a few years ago, we spotted a poster that showed plans to implement 'congestion tolling' on all the freeways into downtown San Antonio. Silence is approval. We must speak out against this onslaught of toll roads throughout San Antonio. The Alamo RMA is also studying requiring a TollTag to park in public parking garages downtown!

If you cannot attend the meeting, please submit public comment here by April 13.

Public comment suggestions:
'I do not want I-35 to be tolled or any other freeways that feed into the downtown area. Residents, tourists, and businesses shouldn't have to pay tolls to visit the Alamo and the Riverwalk! Congestion tolling discourages travel and will hurt downtown businesses.' (Be sure to include your full name and address & ask for confirmation of receipt of comments.)

Online Open House can still be viewed through April 13 at www.txdot.gov (search 'I-35 San Antonio PEL')

Written comments must be submitted by
 

NEXT MEETING April 20 

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Plan to join us for our next meeting. We'll give you the latest update from the Capitol as well as the local toll road scene and municipal elections.  


TURF Meeting
Monday, April 20
   Chester's Hamburgers 
16699 San Pedro 
San Antonio, TX 
(Off US 281 at Thousand Oaks/Mecca exit) 
6:00 PM
(Order dinner on your own) 
6:30 PM
Meeting begins

NOTE: Our regularly scheduled meeting on the 4th Thursday of the month has been changed to April 20 due to the House Transportation Meetings being held on Thursdays until the end of session. Save the date of June 4 for our final meeting before the summer break. This is two days after the session ends. We'll give you a complete wrap-up of how we did during the 84th legislative session.  

BE IN THE KNOW... 

GET THE SCOOP FIRST! SUBSCRIBE TO TERRI'S COLUMNS 

Eminent domain takes center stage in high speed rail fight

READ MORE HERE. 
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Judge rules in favor of Hill Country landowner threatened by developer     
HEADLINES...
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House committee wants study to remove tolls

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Dallas pair brazenly engage in land deals alongside roads, despite FBI investigation
   
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Toll billing scandal spreads:  
North Texas Tollway Authority admits same errors as TxDOT
  
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DONATE TODAY
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The 84th legislative session is underway and our work kicks into high gear. It requires frequent travel to Austin to meet with lawmakers, testify in vital committee hearings, provide bill analysis for legislators, and get our reform bills PASSED!

A gift of any amount, $10, $20, or more is most appreciated, but we're also in need of ongoing monthly contributions earmarked for the six months of the legislative session. If you're interested, please contact Sudie Sartor here.

We need the resources to STOP tolls on existing roads & to get pro-taxpayer transportation policies and reforms in place.
 
With HUNDREDS of toll projects planned in Texas, EVERYONE will be effected by these NEW taxes!

Or send in a check to:
Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (or TURF)
PO Box 29254
San Antonio, TX 78229-0254
"I...place economy among the first and most important of republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared... Taxation follows that, and in its turn wretchedness and oppression."
--Thomas Jefferson,
Letter to William Plumer, 1816
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