Defending Our Property Rights & Freedom to Travel
Keep Cintra's hands off LBJ East
Public meeting TODAY on I-635 East in Dallas
before a conference the microphones in front of empty chairs. Note Shallow depth of field
The battle over I-635 East (from US 75 to I-30) in Dallas culminates today. TxDOT is holding an 'Open House' (not a true public meeting) tonight on this proposed toll project. Despite massive public opposition to tolling and despite two good guy State Senators Bob Hall and Don Huffines fighting the good fight to keep tolls off LBJ East, the bureaucrats at the Regional Transportation Council and the special interests - Cintra - continue to push tolls.

LBJ East Public Meeting 
Tuesday, April 19 
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM 
Highland Oaks Church of Christ 
10805 Walnut Hill Lane 
Dallas, TX 75238

Two elected officials, Rep. Jason Villalba and Dallas Councilman Adam McGough, actually publicly castigated Hall and Huffines for defending their constituents from toll taxes and accused the senators of holding up progress on LBJ East.

Read their outrageous editorial here.

The primary beneficiary of tolls being extended on LBJ East is Cintra. Tolls on LBJ East would boost traffic to Cintra's 13-mile public private partnership tollway on LBJ (from roughly I-35 to US 75) just west of the proposed extension. Tolls cost between 10 cents - 75 cents a mile depending on the level of congestion, making you pay a premium (75 cents a mile or even more) to drive on it during peak hours. The taxpayers are on the hook for $1.4 billion of the $2.6 billion project, plus $500 million in state gasoline tax subsidized this private project. So all told, taxpayers foot the bill for nearly $2 billion of the $2.6 billion project.

Taxpayers also pay Cintra for any potential losses in toll revenue from any 'adverse events' that could dip into their profits.

We can't let Cintra get its mitts on LBJ East, too!

Silence is approval so make your voices heard. Attend the 'open house' and get your comments on the record. Even if you can't make the meeting, be sure to submit your comments opposing tolls on LBJ East via email!

Written comments are due by April 29. Submit them here. 
 
Next TURF gathering April 28

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TURF Meeting 
Thursday, April 28     
Chester's Hamburgers
16609 San Pedro
San Antonio, TX
6:00 PM (for those ordering dinner)
6:30 PM (meeting begins) 
 
This will be our last meeting prior the state conventions. Come hear our plan of action for a pro-taxpayer platform. The march for tolls by local governments continues despite Abbott's anti-toll position. Come hear about the battles shaping up between major metro cities versus the state. There's also lots brewing on the property rights front.

Don't miss it! 
 
Study to eliminate tolls makes BIG news
House Transportation Chairman Joe Pickett seeks to eliminate tolls where possible.
Both Senate Transportation Chair, Robert Nichols, and House Transportation Chairman Joe Pickett held interim committee hearings at the end of March. But the tone and objective of the meetings couldn't be more different. Pro-toll Nichols defended and covered up the waste, fraud, and abuse of toll entities known as Regional Mobility Authorities (RMAs), while Pickett sought to find ways to eliminate as many toll roads across Texas as possible. It made major news across the state!

Read Terri's article: Three billion reasons why RMAs need to go here.

Read Lawmakers ponder how to eliminate tolls here.
 
Important public comment deadline looms in DFW
DFW needs to voice opposition to toll conversion on I-35E
Take action road sign

Will Dallas officials convert HOV lane to toll lane on I-35E?  

The DFW transportation board known as the RTC is seeking feedback on two things: it's budget and air quality plan (UPWP) as well as turning an HOV lane on I-35E into an 'express lane.'

We have not had our questions about this answered as to what an 'express lane' means. It can mean a 'managed toll lane' like the LBJ Express toll lanes or simply a general purpose lane open to all cars. Since they won't answer our inquiries, it likely means they'll be turning it into a toll lane.  

Make sure you weigh in and express concern that this HOV lane conversion could mean imposing tolls on South Dallas, which we oppose! They need to open up this lane that's already paid for to ALL cars!

Submit comments opposing a toll lane conversion on I-35 E here.
(Note: the official name of the project is called 'Transportation Control Measure Substitution')

(Deadline for comment is May 10) 
Property rights update
TCEQ approves dump for foreign toxic waste in Laredo, Texas Supreme Court to take up key case
judge s court gavel on a law book on black
Making the valley a dumping ground for foreign toxic waste
 
Texas' supposed environmental watchdog, the TCEQ, granted approval for a dump for foreign toxic waste in Laredo. This raises serious property rights concerns as well as health and safety concerns.

Read Terri's article on it here.



Property rights case could be overturned

The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to rehear a key property rights case involving the abuse of private pipeline companies using eminent domain for private pipelines in the name of a public use. This does NOT bode well for property rights since the case initially ruled in FAVOR of land owners.

Read about it here.

Contested case hearing to challenge sewage dump at 4S Ranch in Bulverde

The residents downstream of the massive proposed 4S Ranch subdivision in Bulverde, Texas (in the Hill Country north of San Antonio) have managed to get a contested case hearing to challenge the dumping of sewage onto their properties.

All hands on deck are needed to show support for the landowners. It's more than just the adjacent property at stake. The Hill Country's drinking water and flood plain will be impacted forever based on how the TCEQ handles this case. Only named parties impacted by the development can actually participate and speak. But please consider attending to show support.

4S Ranch Contested Case Hearing Monday, April 25
10:00 AM 
 
Comal County Courthouse
100 Main Plaza - 2nd Floor
New Braunfels, TX 78130
New angle on Cintra's bankruptcy

GET THE SCOOP FIRST! SUBSCRIBE TO TERRI'S COLUMNS 

Close-up of a bankruptcy petition Texas Attorney General intervenes in Red River land dispute  

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Texas' first public-private toll road goes bankrupt

 
HEADLINES...
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NEW study: Toll-HOV lanes actually CAUSE congestion
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Digital dark spot: Carpoolers can't get promised free ride on toll roads     
   
    Read more... 
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Ethics complaint filed against Austin toll agency board members  
    Read more... 
DONATE TODAY
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With the 84th legislative session now over, our work continues educating the public about what their lawmakers did and how to hold them accountable at the ballot box. We'll also continue to help local communities fight toll roads in their backyard using the legal and political tools we've refined over a decade of advocacy. We provide vital materials like a Legislative Report Card and Voter Guide, all of which takes resources.

We'd appreciate a donation to support the work TURF does on behalf of taxpayers.

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
© 2015 Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom