Passed out of Senate Transportation Committee:
SB 1184 (Huffines) Subjects Regional Mobility Authorities (toll authorities known as RMAs) to a forensic state audit.

Passed out of Senate Business & Commerce Committee:
SB 1812 (Kolkhorst) To compile an eminent domain database of all the entities in Texas that have the power of eminent domain. We can't start limiting the use of eminent domain until we know all the entities that have it and why.

Passed out of House Transportation Committee:
SJR 5/SB 5 (Nichols/Pickett) - The House replaced the Senate's language that would dedicate $2.5 billion in vehicle sales tax to the State Highway Fund and would instead dedicate $3 billion in existing sales & use tax annually to the State Highway Fund for non-toll roads only.

HB 2554 (White) - To repeal an arcane law that criminalizes pedestrians for walking on the 'wrong side' of the street.

Passed out of the Texas Senate:
SB 321 (Hinojosa) - To dedicate certain revenues from the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Fund to the State Highway Fund resulting in a net gain of $160 million to the State Highway Fund.

Passed out of House Government Transparency Committee:
HB 856 (Sanford) - To require MPOs to broadcast their meetings over the internet so more citizens can watchdog these transportation boards.

Passed out the Senate Finance Committee:
SJR 12 (Perry) - To remove the DPS diversion from the State Highway Fund.

Passed out the House Transportation Committee:
HB 594 (Israel) - To require ALL Texans to permanently use our taxpayer money to pay for trucks to ride at a discount on the failing SH 130 tollway around Austin

Passed out the House Transportation Committee:
HB 1969 (Martinez) - To expand the powers of a toll agency (Regional Mobility Authority or RMA) to issue overweight truck permits. Dept. of Motor Vehicles already performs this function.

Passed out the House Transportation Committee:
HB 2744 (Capriglione) - To authorize license plate reader cameras (so long as they destroy the data within 90 days).

Passed out the House Transportation Committee:
HJR 109 (Pickett) - To authorize counties to establish Transportation Reinvestment Zones (TRZs) which can be used to capture property taxes and sales taxes to pay for toll roads.

Passed out the House Environmental Regulation Committee:
HB 1113 (Clardy) - This is a bill that threatens property rights. It gives the Texas Dept of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) the sole authority to determine whether an affected party has legal standing in a contested case hearing. Developers are dumping treated sewage onto neighboring landowners, who then seek to have their case heard before the TCEQ. All affected landowners should have the ability to have a contested case hearing by an administrative law judge (a third party) and not have the state department who issues the permits to the developers have the sole authority to determine a landowner's legal standing (especially before the legal facts are heard in a hearing).

Passed out of House Transportation Committee:
HB 13 (Pickett) - Would require MPOs to create a 10 year road project priority list using certain criteria. We're concerned this gives too much influence to already broken MPOs who use social engineering to manipulate the public into traveling in modes that are deemed politically correct or socially responsible (like punishing single occupancy drivers with punitive tolls, converting auto lanes into bike lanes, etc.) which is causing more congestion.  

HB 20 (Simmons) - Would require TxDOT to adopt a performance based scoring criteria for project selection. It has good some good accountability measures, however it does nothing to restrict the current widespread use of tolling. The bill also requires local governments to contribute local taxes to state highway projects as well as 'leverage' local funds (which usually means tolls) or federal funds as a criteria for receiving priority in state funding. We're very concerned that this leveraging requirement will assure more toll roads will be not only get built but take priority over non-toll projects. We've made suggestions to the author, and hope he'll remove this from the bill.

SB 714 (Hall) - To ban red light cameras. However, there's a loophole that allows all current cameras to stay in place if the cities run out and extend their current contracts prior to the law taking effect. "If before June 1, 2015, a local authority had enacted an ordinance under those provisions to implement a photographic traffic signal enforcement system and entered into a contract for the administration and enforcement of the system, the local authority may continue to operate the system..." The press is reporting this as a comprised bill that almost makes the legislation moot. This is what happens when Senate Transportation Committee Chair Robert Nichols gets involved with watering down the people's bill to ban these abusive, punitive cameras.

 

Tuesday, April 28 at 8:00 AM

HB 3673 & HB 3674 (Anchia) - Designed to kill the Trinity Toll Road project in Dallas

HB 790 (Burkett) - To require the NTTA to erect a noise barrier on its toll projects if adjacent residents petition for a noise study to be conducted and its determined the noise exceeds federal standards.

Wednesday, April 29 at 8:00 AM  

Rm. E1.016

HB 122 (Pickett) - To prohibit the issuance of any more debt from the Texas Mobility Fund and restrict funds to non-toll roads only (this will hamstring the most abused fund of state money that is used to subsidize toll roads).

Thursday, April 30 at 8:00 AM

GOOD BILLS:
HB 3556 (Burkett) - To develop I-635 (from US-75 to I-30) in east Dallas as a non-toll road with additional highway lanes and frontage roads.

HB 3108 (Dale) - Limits the amount of fees TxDOT & toll entities can collect for unpaid tolls to 6% of the amount of tolls owed (not to exceed $100). To require them to refund a motorist DOUBLE the amount paid if the amount turns out to be incorrect or in error.

HB 142 (Stickland) - To ban red light cameras.

HB 3899 (Rodriguez) - To hand I-35 in Travis County to a private toll operator in a 50 year sweetheart deal known as a Comprehensive Development Agreement or CDA (also called a public private partnership or P3). This assures I-35 will be tolled.