ACRE

Folklorist Jim Garry entertains Coupland meeting

2012-02-06T19:37:00.003-06:00

The Coupland Civic Organization held its official annual meeting on January 30, in the St. Peter’s Church fellowship hall. President Barbara Piper reviewed the past year’s activities and introduced folklorist Jim Garry, who told entertaining, historic stories about the Coupland area.

Although Jim is from our area, he spends much of the year in Wyoming, where he teaches classes and guides wildlife trips for various organizations, including the Yellowstone Institute and the Smithsonian Institution. He has written two books on Western lore, The First Liar Never Has a Chance and This Ol’ Drought Ain’t Broke Us Yet. His third book, describing the armaments of the Lewis and Clark expedition, is due out later this year.

Jim Garry to speak at January 30 CCO meeting

2012-01-22T20:25:00.002-06:00

The Coupland Civic Organization will hold its official annual meeting on Monday, January 30, in the St. Peter’s Church fellowship hall. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the program will begin at 7. The past year’s activities will be reviewed and elections will be held for open director places. After this business meeting, Jim Garry will present historic and entertaining stories.

Jim, who is a professional folklorist and storyteller, is from the Coupland area. He spends much of the year in Wyoming, where he teaches classes and guides wildlife trips for various organizations, including the Yellowstone Institute and the Smithsonian Institution. He has written two books on Western lore, The First Liar Never Has a Chance and This Ol’ Drought Ain’t Broke Us Yet. His third book, describing the armaments of the Lewis and Clark expedition, is due out later this year.

Coupland resident on the Trans-Texas Corridor in New York Times

2012-01-18T21:26:00.003-06:00

Caleb Ging and Libby Fischer with anti-Corridor cotton trailer. Photo by Libby's mother Dawn.

Even though the Trans-Texas Corridor has been officially removed from all Texas statutes, it still pops up in the news from time to time. It was the subject of a December New York Times article that quoted Coupland resident Scott Ging and included a photo of the cotton trailer with anti-Corridor signs that Scott placed on his family’s farm on Hwy. 95 in 2007. Back at that time, ACRE distributed a news release with photos to area newspapers and received some coverage.

The New York Times article says, “Unveiled by Mr. Perry in early 2002, the public-private transit project was intended as a centerpiece of his governorship . . . 4,000 miles of road, rail and utility corridors each as wide as four football fields. . . . Can you imagine a farmer sitting on his ranch thinking of a 1,200-foot-wide corridor hacked through the middle of it?”

The article continues, “Scott Ging sat on his century-old family ranch in Williamson County and thought about just that. He imagined the corridor splitting his land, with no crossings ‘and for no good reason.’”

Scott said, “Traffic is not that bad in Texas; if we have to wait 10 or 15 seconds to get on the highway, that’s a traffic jam. The idea that they would take our land and give it to somebody else to make a profit on it — I don’t know how Perry thought that would ever fly.”

Coupland Civic Organization's Christmas Party

2011-12-20T21:22:00.002-06:00

The CCO enjoyed music from Coupland School students at its meeting on December 13. Thanks to Superintendent Gary Chandler and music director George McAdams for bringing the advanced Middle School guitar students, the kindergarten-second grade choir, and the third grade flutophone group. Mr. McAdams, who has taught science and music at Coupland School for several years, is retiring at the end of this semester. The CCO thanks him for bringing his students to the Coupland Christmas gathering for the past several years. We will miss him! Also, thank you to CCO Hospitality Co-Chairs Ruby Wabbel and Dottie Hahn for the Christmas cookies and punch.

The CCO’s Country Cookin’ cookbook has been reprinted and is available at CCO meetings and from President Barbara Piper, 856-2635. It is available in Taylor at Moss & Moss True Value.

Coupland's November cooking class

2011-12-04T19:13:00.002-06:00

The CCO extends a big thank-you to Coupland’s Master Chef Peter Wabbel, wife Ruby, and son Torsten for hosting the final cooking class of the year on November 12, with seventeen attendees. Peter demonstrated how to prepare and then served dishes such as lump crab cakes, pumpkin cream soup, beef tenderloin a la bourguignon, loin of veal with sauce aux champignon blanche, and the piece de resistance—baked Alaska garnished with sparklers. The cooking classes, which are CCO fundraisers, will resume in spring of 2012.

Coupland Halloween Party

2011-12-03T22:26:00.001-06:00

The CCO held the annual community Halloween party on Halloween evening, featuring games, treats, and costumes at the historic Depot. Both kids and adults enjoyed a safe and fun celebration. Thanks to the Hospitality Committee, co-chaired by Ruby Wabbel and Dottie Hahn, for delicious refreshments and for expertly decorating the Depot in a Halloween motif—spooky, but not too scary for the little ones. Also at the party, the Coupland Incorporation Committee gathered signatures on the incorporation petition.

Coupland Civic Organization displays local artists on Sept. 26

2011-09-14T20:24:00.001-05:00

The Coupland Civic Organization is having a meeting on Monday, September 26, where we will have displays of the work of Coupland artists, and the artists will be present to discuss their work. The meeting will be in the fellowship hall of St. Peter's Chuch of Coupland. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m., with brief announcements at 7, followed by the display of Coupland artists.

Coupland Incorporation Committee holds community-wide yard sale Sept. 24

2011-09-14T20:21:00.001-05:00

The Coupland Incorporation Committee (CIC) is holding a community-wide yard sale on Saturday, September 24, from 8 a.m.--?, at the historic Depot in downtown Coupland.
Community members have donated a wide array of items for this CIC fundraiser. Items range from antiques, collectibles, and crafts to clothing, furniture, tools, and electronics. There also will be a bake sale.
Breakfast tacos, sausage wraps, and drinks will be available. All funds raised will be used by the CIC to defray the costs associated with the process of incorporating Coupland.

Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor: Will it continue to be an issue?

2011-08-15T17:37:00.004-05:00

Paul Burka has an interesting post asking if Gov. Perry will flip-flop on the Trans-Texas Corridor.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=11103

Burka writes, "Like gay marriage and parental rights, the taking of private property by government is a huge issue with Republican voters. As originally conceived by Ric Williamson, and enthusiastically supported by Perry, the Corridor was a series of toll roads, each with a footprint a quarter of a mile wide, condemning millions of acres of pristine countryside, that would be built and controlled by Cintra, a foreign corporation. The right-of-way would include power lines, pipelines, and high-speed rail lines."

He also notes that some elements of the Corridor are being built individually. "[H]e goofed when he bought into Williamson’s vision of a giant network of toll roads (many of which are being built as I write.)"

See Burka's post and the comments for an update of the Corridor that never quite goes away.

HB 1201 to totally repeal TTC becomes law

2011-07-01T09:59:00.001-05:00

A bill to totally remove the authority to create the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) finally passed in the last regular session of the Legislature and was signed by the governor. HB 1201 was authored by Republican Representative Lois Kolkhorst, a long-time opponent of the TTC. The bill was described as “Relating to repeal of authority for the establishment and operation of the Trans-Texas Corridor.”

HB 1201 was passed by the House and Senate in May, was signed by the governor on June 17, and was effective immediately. During the years of attempts to implement the Corridor, the Coupland area was threatened by plans for the Corridor route. Now, Gov. Perry, who created the TTC and described it as his “vision,” has signed the bill to completely take all references to it out of Texas statutes. If proponents ever want to revive the TTC, they will have to start from scratch; they will not be able to use existing authority.

HB 1201 to remove TTC from all statutes moves to Senate

2011-04-09T08:51:00.003-05:00

As reported in the San Antonio Express-News by Gary Scharrer http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-politics/2011/04/house-moves-to-kill-the-dead-trans-texas-corridor/ "House moves to kill the dead Trans Texas Corridor" HB 1201 by Lois Kolkhorst has passed the House and moves on to the Senate. HB 1201 will remove all references to the Trans-Texas Corridor in state statutes. Scharrer notes, "The Texas Trans Corridor remains a controversial legacy of Gov. Rick Perry. Widespread opposition by landowners and others upset about foreign ownership of state highways doomed the massive project that was authorized in 2003. Perry pushed the plan, which included a large network of tolled highways, dedicated lanes for trucks, railways, and rights of way for utilities." Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said, “As our state grows in population, we are facing a pressing need for a more modern, more efficient network of roads and highways to move people and goods. We do not, however, need the Trans-Texas Corridor, and I thank Speaker (Joe) Straus and my colleagues in the Texas House for working with me to repeal the Trans-Texas Corridor from state law.” “So today is a true milestone. With Trans-Texas Corridor completely repealed, I look forward to more responsible transportation debates to keep goods and people moving in and around Texas,” Kolkhorst said. Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, co-author of the legislation, said: ”The Trans-Texas Corridor was too unwieldy, too expensive, and would have taken too much private property."

Coupland Incorporation Committee will meet April 18

2011-04-04T21:41:00.002-05:00

From Susan Schmidt on Coupland Incorporation Committee: The Coupland Incorporation Committee met on Monday, March 21, at the Coupland Depot. Thanks to Tony Prete of Waeltz & Prete, Inc., Civil Engineers, the committee studied the first draft of a map encompassing the two square miles of surface area. After much discussion, the map was revised to include more people who wish to be part of Coupland. This is probably the first of many revisions. Also discussed was the need to inform residents of the Coupland community about the advantages of becoming an incorporated entity as opposed to being a part of another city. This will be our next priority. Another meeting will be held on April 18, 7 p.m., Coupland Depot. We encourage anyone who is interested in this topic to attend.

Totally wiping the Trans-Texas Corridor off the books

2011-03-29T20:32:00.003-05:00

Two bills calling for absolutely repealing the statutory authority to establish the Trans-Texas Corridor are making their way through this session of the Legislature. The Senate Bill 565 by Hegar is scheduled for a public hearing on March 31. House Bill 1201 by Representative Lois Kolkhorst has already been reported favorably out of committee and sent to Calendars. Hopefully, good opportunities to remove the Trans-Texas Corridor from Texas statute once and for all!

First mayor of Volente advises Coupland to incorporate

2011-03-04T08:41:00.003-06:00

Thanks to former Volente Mayor Jan Winawine for speaking to the Coupland Civic Organization on Feb. 28. He gave an interesting and entertaining account of Volente's path to incorporation. Volente's incorporation preserved the community, and he advised Coupland residents to incorporate in order to save their community also. Thanks to Tricia Rosetty, Taylor Daily Press, for her informative report of the meeting.

http://taylordailypress.net/news/coupland/article_192bde92-4528-11e0-86ce-001cc4c002e0.html

Coupland news in Taylor Daily Press

2011-03-02T20:32:00.001-06:00

The latest news from Coupland:

http://taylordailypress.net/lifestyles/article_98916dfa-4131-11e0-b6e8-001cc4c002e0.html

January Herald Is Out; CCO January Meeting

2011-01-16T09:47:00.005-06:00

The January Coupland Herald newsletter is out. To get a copy, please email me at susan_garry@hotmail.com.

The Coupland Civic Organization’s January meeting is the official general meeting to elect directors for the three open places on the board. The meeting will be Monday, January 31, in St. Peter’s Church Fellowship Hall. Come for refreshments at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

Coupland Incorporation Committee

2011-01-16T09:40:00.003-06:00

First report from the new Coupland Incorporation Committee, from Susan Schmidt in the January Coupland Herald:

The Coupland Incorporation Committee met on Monday, November 29. Members of the committee attending the meeting were Becky Sutton, Jack Piper, Jim Huntington, Luther Draehn, Karen Marosko, Charley Keating, Carey Franklin, and Chair Susan Schmidt.

Many topics were discussed, with more questions than answers. The highest priority at this point is having the correct number of people needed for incorporation within the two-mile radius.

The next meeting, slated for January 10, is being rescheduled due to scheduling conflicts experienced by several committee members. Anyone wishing to join this committee is more than welcome. Please call Susan Schmidt at 856-2588 for the next meeting date.

Christmas in Coupland

2010-12-24T15:04:00.003-06:00

The Coupland Civic Organization (CCO) thanks Coupland teacher George McAdams and Superintendent Gary Chandler for bringing the school’s flutophone group and the guitar class to perform at the CCO’s Christmas program on December 16. A standing-room-only audience of parents, grandparents, and other community members greatly enjoyed the music. Also, thanks to the CCO’s hospitality committee for the holiday refreshments.

The steeple and windows of St. Peter’s Church of Coupland are outlined with Christmas lights, and together with the lights on the Old Coupland Inn and some elaborate displays on homes, Coupland’s Christmas lights make a beautiful scene in the middle of the countryside.

St. Peter’s choir presented their Christmas Cantata on December 19. Additional St. Peter’s Christmas activities include the Christmas bags that the Sunday School children have made for the church members who are not able to be out and about. Also underway is the annual Angel Tree project to provide gifts for children in the community.

Christmas time in Coupland--a wonderful time of year! Merry Christmas!

Coupland hears about neighboring cities' expansions--incorporation committee forms

2010-11-25T22:02:00.003-06:00

At the Coupland Civic Organization meeting on October 25, an audience of about 60 heard from Taylor and Elgin officials about their cities’ annexation plans and their thoughts on the situation in the Coupland area.

Taylor’s plans

Taylor City Manager Jim Dunaway said that since Taylor’s last annexation, there are no more plans to go south along Hwy. 95. If Taylor goes south, it would be on 973. The new high school will open in the fall of 2011, and Taylor may annex there in 1012 or 13. In addition to the area around the new high school, Taylor will focus toward its northwest in the Chandler Road area.

The line between Pflugerville and Manor is Manda-Carlson Rd. because of an agreement. Pflugerville does not want to be any farther east, at least right now. Also, in August, Pflugerville and Taylor agreed that Pflugerville relinquished its ETJ in the Rice’s Crossing area, giving up its ETJ there that was in Williamson County. Dunaway said that Taylor was talking to Manor and Elgin “trying to negotiate a line between us.”

Elgin’s plans

Elgin Mayor Marc Holm said that Elgin and Coupland are in a similar situation. There is intense growth east of Austin. It is going to continue to be a desirable area. There are a lot of plans still in play. There will be pressure on Coupland, with developments coming.

He and other Elgin officials explained that their effort to voluntarily add property to the Elgin ETJ by sending letters to people who are in the Elgin ISD is a defensive effort in response to aggressive annexation by Manor. Manor is attempting to move to its northeast. If Manor is successful, its ETJ would be north of Elgin, between Elgin and Coupland, and moving toward Coupland. If Elgin can expand its ETJ toward Coupland, this would protect Coupland from Manor.

Mayor Holm said that Elgin is having to respond or decisions will be made for it. That’s a challenge that Coupland and Elgin have in common. He concluded that Central Texas is still the area for growth. He advised Coupland to create our own city or the decision will be taken away from us, and not too far in the future.

Taylor and Elgin in discussions

Jim Dunaway, Taylor city manager, said if Coupland does not choose incorporation, we have to decide which city will take us over. Current city officials can’t tell us what future city councils will do.

Taylor is in discussions with Elgin and Manor to agree that those cities will stop at the Williamson County line. If this comes to pass, it leaves Coupland only within the reach of Taylor for future annexation, given that Pflugerville says it does not want to come past Manda/Carlson Road. However, both Dunaway and Mayor Holm said we can’t predict what future city councils will do.

Business development could threaten Coupland

Greg Vick, Elgin interim city manager, doesn’t think the biggest threat to Coupland now is from a city; he thinks it would be a big development. Someone could be planning a big development for the Coupland area, and when something happens, it’s too late for us to have any control over it. Right now, Coupland has the ability to make these decisions. Greg Vick said the threat is not so much residential developments, but business developments.

Coupland incorporation committee

At the end of the meeting, Susan Schmidt announced that she is forming a committee to work on incorporation. She asked people who were interested to get in touch with her.

The 2011 session--eminent domain protection redux

2010-11-15T21:13:00.002-06:00

Sen. Craig Estes has refiled his bill to limit eminent domain takings to projects that are only for public use. Last session, the Senate passed this legislation, but it got caught up in the log-jam of bills that did not pass in the House when time ran out. This time, it is called Senate Bill 180, which redefines “public use” and includes compensation for diminished access. SB 180 also ends land speculation by the government.

Estes said, “I believe one of the most important functions of government is the protection of private property and the interests of property owners. Our ability to own and profit from private property is fundamental to not just our economic liberty, but also our personal liberty."

Here's hoping that this session does not end in the disarray of the previous session, when valuable legislation like this, that was on its way to being passed, was simply lost when time ran out.

October Coupland meeting on Taylor and Elgin expansion

2010-10-23T16:57:00.002-05:00

The October Coupland Civic Organization meeting will be the last in the series of presentations about the changing situation around Coupland. The CCO has heard from Taylor’s city manager and mayor pro tem and Pflugerville’s city planner. The group also has had a community round-table discussion about the situation. CCO directors have presented information about the small cities of Weir and Creedmoor and their experiences with incorporation.

Taylor and Elgin are considering the future of the area between them, which includes Coupland. Some residents who are close to Coupland but are in the Elgin school district have received letters from the City of Elgin asking them to voluntarily join Elgin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.

On October 25, the CCO will present the Taylor/Elgin situation. Speakers will be Taylor City Manager Jim Dunaway, Elgin Mayor Marc Holm, Elgin City Manager Greg Vick, and Elgin City Planner Gary Cooke. The meeting is Monday, October 25, in the Fellowship Hall of St. Peter’s Church. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the program will begin at 7.

More on solar farm in Coupland area

2010-10-23T16:43:00.003-05:00

Update on the 600-acre, $240 million solar farm at the intersection of Manda-Carlson Road and Felder Lane, about 3-1/2 miles west/southwest of Coupland:

On September 15, the Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens Association hosted a meeting at the New Sweden Parish Hall to get more info to area residents.
RRE Solar, formed late last year, is the company doing the project. A consultant for RRE Solar, Angelos Angelou of Angelou Economics, said that they have not yet chosen a construction company. He said that when a company is chosen, RRE will put the concerns of the surrounding residents in the contract. He noted that RRE has purchased right-of-way for a line to connect the solar farm to the nearby LCRA transmission line and thus to the ERCOT grid.

They hope to break ground here in November; construction should take 2-1/2 to 3 years.

Clay Fischer presented the findings of Zephyr Environmental. Zephyr did not find any endangered species on the site, although nearby residents said they have spotted whooping cranes on their properties. Cottonwood Creek and a tank are on the RRE site. Fischer said, “All plant work will happen outside of these areas. RRE and Zephyr have developed stormwater pollution prevention plans to stop erosion during construction and operation.”

Fischer claimed that there were no cultural resources on the site or within one mile of the project boundaries. However, residents pointed out that the Carlson Community historical marker is across the road from the project, at the intersection of Lund-Carlson Road and Manda-Carlson Road.

Daven Mehta, CEO of RRE, explained that the solar panels will be 6 to 7 feet high, fixed at a 30 degree angle. Unlike some solar panels, these will not move, and there will be no noise. The panels will be set back from the property boundaries. There will be two fences with a gravel road in between, the fencing will be 20 feet back from boundaries, and the panels will be 50-70 feet inside. The fence and panels will be screened from view by berms and plantings of trees and shrubs around the property.

When asked about lighting, Mehta said, “We don’t work at night and only need lights for security.” RRE is considering new type of lighting that mitigates the brightness reaching neighboring properties.

At the previous BPCCA meeting, some attendees thought that the solar farm was not the worst project that could be put on this property. It is a large parcel that was owned by out-of-state owners, and some neighboring property owners were concerned that it was being considered for high-density housing or an Austin landfill.

Some adjoining property owners at the September meeting disagreed with the above analysis and are unalterably opposed to the solar farm. Some neighbors were considering having their own environmental study done.

New book on "the unfinished history" of the I-69 part of the Trans-Texas Corridor

2010-09-01T16:21:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Martha Estes for letting us know about a newly released book that sounds very interesting. Matt Dellinger’s “Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway” deals with the TTC-69 part of the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Publishers Weekly says that this book about “the controversial I-69 highway . . . makes for colorful, quirky reading.” As was true about the now-dead TTC-35, TTC-69 also will run from Canada to Mexico and is a NAFTA highway. Whereas TTC-35 was slated to run through Central Texas, TTC-69 is planned to go through East Texas through the Houston area and on to the Rio Grande. Dellinger discusses the many options in play, including “the controversial practice of allowing foreign companies to lease roads long-term and charge escalating tolls.”

In the Statesman, Ben Wear says, “Dellinger details the back-room origins of the now-dead Trans-Texas Corridor. . . . And the book makes indelible characters out of key players in that issue.”

Dellinger is on a national tour and will be at Austin’s Book People, 603 N. Lamar, on Friday, October 1, at 7 p.m. for reading, discussion, and signing.

Federal Highway Administration pounds "final nail in the coffin" of TTC-35

2010-07-31T14:45:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Marcia Snyder for sending the info below. The FHWA has issued the final Record of Decision on the Trans-Texas Corridor paralleling IH 35 and has chosen the No Action Alternative. Because the FHWA specifies that the “project is concluded” and “the project ends,” it would be very hard if not impossible for the pro-Corridor elements to resurrect TTC-35.

Margaret Byfield, American Stewards of Liberty, cites the following analysis from attorney Fred Grant, who was instrumental in forming the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission:

“The Federal Highway Administration has pounded the final nail in the coffin of the Trans-Texas Corridor-35. The Agency’s final Record of Decision, issued on July 20, 2010 selected the No Action Alternative but went further in ordering that 'a study area for the TTC-35 Project will not be chosen and the TTC-35 Project is concluded.' Twice the ROD states that the 'project is concluded', and six times it states that 'the project ends'. If TXDOT attempted to revive the 35 Corridor project and use the same EIS, this ROD would provide the base for issuance by a United States District Judge of a Declaratory Judgment prohibiting the action.”

Margaret says: “The Eastern Central Commission needs to count this as another major victory. They didn’t withdraw the study as requested but wrote the ROD in such a way that TXDOT cannot use this study in the future. Congratulations to all.”

I say, "Champagne for all!"

July Coupland Herald is out!

2010-07-15T18:29:00.004-05:00

The July issue of the Coupland Herald newsletter is out. Highlights include a map of area city ETJs advancing toward Coupland and the country's largest solar farm in the Coupland area. What next?! To read the Herald, go to couplandtx.org and click on Coupland Herald in the left column. To see more photos from the paver installation project and the Depot Dedication event, click on "new" Depot Dedication.

Coupland dedicates newly restored Depot on June 19

2010-07-01T20:40:00.003-05:00

June 19 marked the official Depot Dedication. Coupland Civic Organization President Barbara Piper introduced three long-time Coupland residents, who presented some history of the community and the significance of the Depot. Ruth Thiele spoke of rescuing the Depot, moving it to the center of Coupland, and restoring it as the 1976 Bicentennial project of what was then the Coupland Community Club.

Irene Florida explained the change from the Community Club to the current Civic Organization, which is a non-profit organization. She recounted the beginning of the planning and fundraising for the current restoration during her tenure as CCO president. Loretta Patschke told some entertaining stories of growing up in Coupland, talked about the generations of Coupland families, and discussed the meaning of the Depot. She concluded with a heart-felt plea that current Coupland residents do what they can to preserve the valuable and traditional way-of-life that still exists in the community.

Board member Bradley Nelson demonstrated working crossing lights and bell, from his railroad memorabilia collection, that he has installed in front of the Depot. Attendees enjoyed a barbecue sandwich lunch and seeing the Depot and its collection of artifacts. Mickie Ross brought a display of literature and antique toys from the Williamson Museum. Francis Smith of the Elgin Depot Museum also attended.

Family members of Eldridge and Deanna Tidwell offered rides in their horse-drawn wagon around Coupland. Fire Chief Tracy Gardner displayed some of the latest trucks from the Coupland Volunteer Fire Department.

Personalized paver installation at Coupland Depot

2010-06-23T15:25:00.005-05:00

Coupland Civic Organization directors take a break: Seated, left to right, Dottie Hahn, President Barbara Piper, Barbara Franklin. Back row, Ruby Wabbel, Susan Garry, Bradley Nelson.

Hunter Matysek and the parents of Taylor Boy Scout Troop 167.

Hunter Matysek discusses the paver project with CCO paver committee chair Barbara Franklin.

Bradley Nelson and helpers install his working crossing signal in front of the Depot.

Saturday, June 5, was paver installation day in front of the Depot. As part of his work to become an Eagle Scout, Hunter Matysek of Boy Scout Troop 167 of Taylor, took on the project of removing the old sidewalk pavers, cleaning them, leveling the ground, and reinstalling the old pavers, along with the new personalized ones. His fellow scouts, along with parents and siblings, also worked on the project.
The CCO board members provided a lunch for the scouts and their families. Special thanks to Walter Hahn who barbecued the brisket.
Reporter Lauren Chiodo covered the event for the Taylor Daily Press. Her article, along with a color photo of the project, was on the front page of the June 8 issue.
Coupland resident Rebecca Newman and her three sons were all helping with the pavers. Her oldest son Jared, now a junior at A&M, became an Eagle Scout with Troop 167. Jake, 15, and Jordan, 12, are members of the troop. Rebecca explained that many of the parents have science and technology backgrounds, so they are able to teach the scouts to do their projects in a professional manner.
While the scouts were working on the pavers, CCO board member Bradley Nelson installed authentic signal lights and bell at the Depot. The working lights and bell are from his private railroad memorabilia collection.
The redone sidewalk with the new personalized pavers looks great! The paver project will continue as a long-term fundraiser for the Depot facilities. You can still order pavers for a donation of $35 each. Adding a train logo is an additional $10. The sidewalk is designed so that new pavers can be added in the future. To order pavers, please call fundraising chair Barbara Franklin at 856-0039 or CCO President Barbara Piper at 856-2635.

Coupland area to be site of largest solar farm in U.S.

2010-06-20T20:17:00.003-05:00

When we envision hundreds of acres of solar panels, we may think of an unpopulated area that is not good farmland. We probably don’t envision hundreds of acres of solar panels covering up our valuable Blackland Prairie. However, the Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens Association (BPCCA), at their June 14 meeting, heard from a group who plans to put a solar farm on 550-600 acres on the west side of Manda-Carlson Road at Felder Lane, about 3-1/2 miles west/southwest of Coupland.

Over 70 attendees filled the New Sweden Lutheran Parish Hall to hear the group describe what they called “the largest solar plant in this country . . . one of the largest in the world.”

Marilyn Samuelson, BPCCA Vice President, moderated the meeting about the “City of Pflugerville Solar Farm Energy Project,” a project of RRE Austin Solar. In attendance was Victor Gonzales, the mayor pro tem of Pflugerville--the site is in the Pflugerville ETJ. The site also is in the Elgin ISD (EISD), but an EISD representative did not come. A representative came from the office of Travis County Commissioner Ron Davis.

Angelou introduced the people from the companies that are behind RRE: NEPC India Ltd. (Chennai, India), and Power Tech Pvt. Ltd. (Jamnagar, India). Raj Kumar Khemka is Vice Chairman of NEPC India. He was accompanied by two directors, Mr. Mehta and one other.

Angelou explained that the $240 million project will be built over a period of 2-1/2 years. He said, “This is going to be the largest project in the state of Texas. At 60 megawatts, it will be the largest in the U.S. There will be four to five permanent employees, with three to four hundred during the construction phase.” Construction could begin in January, 2011. The solar farm will connect to the nearby LCRA electric transmission line.

Elgin ISD and the City of Pflugerville have approved the project and will give it tax benefits. RRE is expecting the support of Travis County in the near future. The project has a letter of support from the State of Texas and will receive federal incentives. Angelou said, “Governments have to incentivize or the project can’t happen.”

Mehta mentioned that the project also would benefit from the carbon tax credits that will go into effect if a cap-and-trade system passes the Congress.

The RRE presentation referred to approval from and benefits for Elgin schools and Pflugerville, although the project is several miles from Elgin schools and Pflugerville. The people who are actually next to the plant have no authority or recourse. However, some attendees, realizing that this large site is available for any type of project, think that a solar plant is not the worst project that could be placed here.

Coupland Civic Organization to hold Depot Dedication on June 19

2010-06-10T20:03:00.004-05:00

The Coupland Civic Organization (CCO) will dedicate its newly restored historic Depot on Saturday, June 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Long-time Coupland residents will talk about the history of the Depot and its significance to the community.
Before being moved to the center of the community where it is today, the Depot had been moved from its original location next to the tracks and placed on a farm. Ruth Thiele will speak about the Depot being moved from her uncle’s farm and being restored for the first time in 1976, as Coupland’s project for the United States Bicentennial.
Irene Florida will discuss the beginning of the planning for the current restoration, which took place while she was CCO president. Loretta Patschke will talk about the experience of growing up in Coupland and what the Depot means to the community.
Beginning at 11 a.m., the CCO will host a picnic-style lunch, and the Dedication presentation will begin at noon. The Depot will be open so that residents and visitors can view the CCO’s restoration work and the historic pictures and artifacts that are on display. A horse-drawn wagon will provide rides through the community.
CCO board member Bradley Nelson will demonstrate authentic train-crossing lights and bell that he has installed at the Depot. The lights and bell are from his private railroad memorabilia collection.

BPCCA June 14 meeting on large solar farm for NE Travis County

2010-06-06T10:52:00.004-05:00

The Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens Association is the rural community group in NE Travis County. They cover the New Sweden/Lund/Manda/Carlson areas. A very large (500-1,000 acre) solar farm is being proposed for Manda-Carlson. The BPCCA has arranged a meeting about this project for June 14. The public is welcome. The BPCCA release:

"The Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens Association (BPCCA) will meet Monday, June 14, 7:00 pm. at the New Sweden Lutheran Parish Hall, 12809 New Sweden Church Road. Guest speaker will be Angelos G. Angelou of Angelou Economics and will bring information to the group concerning the proposed solar farm in the Manda-Carlson area. The public is welcome to attend.
"BPCCA was organized in 2001 with the mission statement 'To ensure the beautiful, endangered, and historic Blackland Prairie of northeast Travis County is preserved. To ensure progressive economic growth meets the requirements of this rural environment and proud heritage. To ensure our elected and appointed officials understand the citizens of northeast Travis County will not allow the Blackland Prairie to become the dumping ground for Central Texas and other counties.' BPCCA’s boundaries in northeast Travis County are: Manor City Limits and/or FM 973 on the west, Travis County/Williamson Country Line on the north, Travis County/Bastrop County line or Elgin City Limits on the east and Highway 290 on the south between the city limits of Elgin and Manor."

SH 130 in the red--taxpayers making up the difference

2010-06-01T07:03:00.001-05:00

The Statesman’s Ben Wear reports that the Texas Transportation Commission may be considering lowering tolls for trucks on SH 130 in order to lure more trucks from I-35. The article has an interesting discussion on what level of tolling would result in more trucks taking 130 at what result to overall toll revenues.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/truck-relief-on-i-35-maybe-a-little-718333.html

Wear notes that financially 130 is in the red. He reports, “The 2002 financial prospectus for investors who put $2.2 billion into Texas 130, Loop 1 and Texas 45 North showed initial toll rates unchanged until 2015, when a 50 percent increase was scheduled. Transportation commissioners have the power to raise rates before then, but they aren't talking publicly about doing so. But they might be considering it privately. According to figures from TxDOT Chief Financial Officer James Bass, the three-road system has required $68 million in tax money to balance the books over the first three years.”

So why is it a good idea to continue to build toll roads where taxpayers will be paying the investors? By the way, ground has been broken on the tolled interchange at 290 East and 183—a tolled interchange being paid for by taxpayer stimulus money.

Coupland Civic Organization discusses pros and cons of incorporation

2010-05-21T08:47:00.002-05:00

The Coupland Civic Organization (CCO) will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, May 24, at 7 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of St. Peter’s Church of Coupland. Come at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments and visiting. The program will be the third in a series of community discussions about the expansion of surrounding cities toward Coupland. There will be a panel discussion on the pros and cons of “Incorporation—Is it right for Coupland?”

The CCO thanks Pflugerville Planning Director Autumn Speer, who spoke at our April meeting about Pflugerville’s growth. Attendees also enjoyed hearing from Loretta Patschke, of Patschke & Patschke Real Estate and a Coupland resident, who discussed new projects and events in Taylor.

Also thanks to Taylor Mayor Pro Tem Ella Jez and Taylor City Manager Jim Dunaway for speaking at the CCO's March meeting.

TTC-35 FEIS--Is 'No Action' good enough? Should it be totally withdrawn?

2010-05-09T14:31:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother’s Day!

TxDOT has released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the Trans-Texas Corridor that was proposed to parallel IH-35 (TTC-35). Those who commented during this environmental process have received a card from TxDOT announcing that they can view the FEIS at www.keeptexasmoving.com. The FEIS also is in public libraries in the Corridor area and TxDOT district and area offices. TxDOT will provide CD and paper copies of the FEIS to the public for the cost of reproduction and shipping. The deadline for commenting on the FEIS is May 26.

In addition to viewing the text of the FEIS, you also can see previous comments from the public, organizations, and officials in the appendices.

This FEIS has recommended the “No Action Alternative,” which means, according to TxDOT, “the TTC-35 project would end.” The Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission is concerned that this situation would result in this FEIS being left on the table, where it could possibly be resurrected in the future. The Commission has petitioned the Federal Highway Administration to completely withdraw and discard the FEIS.

Water pipeline lawsuit dismissed--problem of eminent domain by non-profits fronting for profiteering remains

2010-05-02T19:22:00.003-05:00

In November, 2009, we covered the new water pipeline of Cross County Water Supply Corp., which will bring water from Burleson County to the Manor area. The 52-mile pipeline was the subject of an American-Statesman article:
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/10/1110travispipe.html

As we previously reported, Cross County is set up as a non-profit. However, behind Cross County are for-profit entities who hope to profit handsomely from selling water for development in the SH 130 area. Quoting the Statesman, “Cross County counts as its customer Blue Water Systems, run by Austin real estate investor Ross Cummings, which has developed wells in Burleson County, said Pat Reilly, a director of Cross County. Blue Water, in turn, has a deal to sell water to publicly traded Southwest Water Co., Reilly said.”

Burleson County landowners Terry and Linda Ausley would not give permission for Cross County to survey their land, Cross County sued them, and they counter-sued, saying that Cross County “was formed . . . as a Texas nonprofit corporation for the sole purpose of fraudulently providing a mechanism for obtaining easements below market rate via threat of condemnation for purposes of securing a pipeline location . . .”

Since the suits were filed, Cross County did not cross the Ausleys’ land, but went around it.

Ausleys’ lawsuit dismissed

Thanks to Madeleine Hensley for letting us know that the Ausleys’ case was dismissed and getting a copy of the opinion.

On April 16, Federal Judge Sam Sparks dismissed the Ausleys’ lawsuit. The case had been transferred to Federal Court because the Ausleys had alleged a violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Because Sparks found no RICO violation, he dismissed the case. Further, while not actually ruling on the matter, Sparks’ opinion recognized that Cross County DID have condemnation authority.

This brings us to the underlying problem in this situation: a for-profit water corporation can set up a non-profit corporation to condemn land and sell bonds for a water pipeline from which the principals will profit greatly.

This is a state law problem. The Legislature needs to change state law so that for-profit corporations cannot set up non-profit corporations as fronts to profit off of the water resources of the state. Water supplies, or lack thereof, are becoming a bigger and bigger issue. Some officials and legislators are already saying that the state needs to revamp its water policy, given the finite supply of groundwater and the increasing demands on it.

One of the major reforms that is needed is some way to keep rapacious water profiteers from stripping a region’s water resources and using eminent domain against property owners. This is an eminent domain abuse that the Legislature needs to put a stop to.

New toll road documentary "Truth Be Tolled" wins award

2010-04-16T09:08:00.002-05:00

News from Bill Molina about his latest documentary . . . Bill’s original award-winning “Truth Be Tolled” movie that concentrated on the Trans-Texas Corridor was very informative and had a big influence in mobilizing state-wide opposition to the TTC. His latest edition, “Truth Be Tolled (281 Special Edition)” is about the proposed transformation of the free highway 281 in San Antonio to a tollway. This documentary, Bill reports, “has just been nominated for a 2010 REMI Award and is an Official Selection of the 43rd Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film and Video Festival.”

The premiere festival screening was April 13 in Houston. More info from Bill: “WorldFest (http://www.worldfest.org/) is one of the oldest and largest film & video competitions in the world, with more than 4,500 category entries received from 37 countries in 2009. So to win here is quite a significant honor. The Festival will screen just 55-60 feature films and 100 Short Film Premieres, with a complete and absolute emphasis on the American and International Independent feature films and with a continuing annual spotlight on an individual country and its films.”

For more information about the film: http://www.truthbetolled.com

More time to comment on CAMPO's hazardous freight rail bypass

2010-04-14T19:33:00.004-05:00

My previous post was about commenting on the hazardous freight rail bypass through Southeastern Central Texas that is in CAMPO’s 2035 Transportation Plan. Their deadline to comment on this bypass was April 12. CAMPO now has announced an extension of this deadline until May 14. There also is an additional public hearing to be held on May 10. Their message is below.

“Following work on the draft 2035 plan's policy framework by the CAMPO Policies and Resolutions Committee, the CAMPO Transportation Policy Board released the document for public review and comment on April 12th. Because the policy framework, including the draft Plan's goals, objectives and policies, is substantially different from what was distributed with the draft CAMPO 2035 Plan in March, the public comment period on the entire 2035 Plan, including the policy framework, has been extended until May 14th and a second public hearing on the draft Plan has been scheduled for May 10th.

“The public comment period now ends at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 14th; the second public hearing will take place on Monday, May 10th at a meeting beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center, 500 East Cesar Chavez Street (CAMPO has arranged for free parking for the public hearing).

“An on-line comment form for the draft plan is available until 5:00 p.m. on May 14th.”

To see the map with the bypass on it, please go to www.campotexas.org and click on the 2035 Transportation Plan in the top paragraph. The map is on page 35. Putting a hazardous freight rail bypass through our area will cause environmental and social damage. Please send your comments to CAMPO asking them NOT to put this bypass in their 2035 Plan.

Hazardous Freight Rail Bypass through Eastern Central Texas

2010-04-11T19:30:00.003-05:00

The CAMPO 2035 Draft Transportation Plan shows a Hazardous Materials Rail Bypass between FM 973 and Coupland. If you are in the Southeastern Williamson or Eastern Travis County area, please be aware of this proposal.

You can send comments to CAMPO about this bypass; the deadline is April 13.

There are many reasons that the proposed rail bypass is not a good idea. The rationale for the bypass is to free up the line through Austin for passenger rail. However, there is not enough demand for passenger rail between these cities, and there is not enough public transportation to move passengers around these cities if they arrive by train. There will not be enough passengers paying enough for tickets to support the service. Texas and local taxpayers will all be paying for the rail transportation of relatively few passengers.

Since there is no need for the passenger rail through Austin, there is no need for the proposed bypass through the SE Williamson/E Travis Co. area.

The bypass will cause the unnecessary destruction of all the natural and cultural resources that will need to be studied in the Environmental Impact Statement that will be required for this project. The land east of Austin is part of the Blackland Prairie that is ranked as some of the most valuable farmland in the world by authorities such as National Geographic. (September 2008, “Our Good Earth—The future rests on the soil beneath our feet—Can we save it?”) The map on page 92 shows the Blackland Prairie through Central Texas as “highly fertile” and “highly fertile at risk.”

The bypass will unnecessarily cause damage to the natural resources, such as farmland, streams, vegetation, and wildlife. The bypass also will damage the cultural resources of communities, historic sites, and residences.

If rail advocates are determined to build this unnecessary bypass, they should place it along SH 130. SH 130 already forms a corridor east of Austin and already has overpasses. Use SH 130 rather than tearing up more land and dividing communities.

To send in comments, please go to:
www.campotexas.org
At the top of the page, there are links to see the entire CAMPO plan and a link to the comment page.
The section is entitled “Public Comment Opportunity on the draft 2035 Plan.”
The deadline for comments is April 13 at 5 p.m.

Group demands complete withdrawal of Corridor DEIS

2010-03-25T21:18:00.002-05:00

The Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC), which was instrumental in bringing the Trans-Texas Corridor in Central Texas (TTC-35) environmental process to a halt, has taken another step to completely kill the Corridor through Central Texas. The five mayors whose cities and respective school districts form the ECTSRPC have filed a petition with the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) demanding that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that was filed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) be withdrawn.

In the fall of 2009, TxDOT asked the FHA to issue a “no action” or “no build” decision on the DEIS. Holland Mayor Mae Smith, who is also president of the ECTSRPC, explains, “If the FHA issues a ‘no action’ record of decision on the environmental study as requested by TxDOT, the study remains available to use in the future should the governor change his mind and decide to build the TTC.”

According to information released by the ECTSRPC, “Technically, an environmental study can be reused unless it is completely withdrawn from consideration and discarded by the lead agency, which is the Federal Highway Administration.” The Texas Legislature has turned against the Corridor and did not reauthorize the method of financing it, but TxDOT’s power to create the Corridor is still in statute. Bills to remove the Corridor from statute did not make it through the last session of the Legislature.

To see the “Petition to Withdraw the DEIS,” go to www.stewards.us.

TFB--"fervor for private property rights justice has not cooled"

2010-03-17T09:12:00.007-05:00

Thanks to Martha Estes for calling attention to the Texas Farm Bureau article by Mike Barnett on the upcoming eminent domain battle in the next session.

http://www.txfb.org/newsmanager/templates/TXFBTemplate.aspx?articleid=6156&zoneid=122

Barnett points out that the TFB's endorsed candidate Hutchison experienced a disappointing loss to Rick Perry; then he reiterates the determination of the TFB "to achieve true eminent domain reform. . . . TFB's fervor for private property rights justice has not cooled."

Barnett does not think that a Perry victory in November is a slam-dunk. Whoever wins, the TFB is going to continue their property rights fight, following the success of getting Prop. 11 into the Texas constitution last year. However, "Prop. 11, which prohibits the government from acquiring land for non-public use, was only the first step." Now, the TFB will continue to work for additional protections in the areas of fair market value, loss of access, and the right to repurchase.

"We must lay the groundwork now to remind our state representatives and senators of the importance this issue holds for all Texans. . . . When they go into session next January, state legislators must quickly affirm the language from last session’s SB 18, which unanimously passed the Senate but was tied up by the voter ID wrangling in the House as the session closed."

"Any delay could be fatal to our efforts. If whoever is elected governor chooses to veto the reform bill, it would take every remaining day of the session to accomplish an override. There are many who are opposed to this effort to protect private property rights who will be seeking derailment at every opportunity."

"With the disappointments of the last two sessions, it would seem the deck is stacked against Farm Bureau in our eminent domain efforts. Not so. We are a grassroots organization of true believers. The fire to protect our rights as property owners burns deep within. We’ve come very close to achieving our goals two times. . . . The third time will be the charm."

Could Texas Farm Bureau face Perry payback?

2010-03-08T13:41:00.005-06:00

Since our rural Coupland area did not go for Perry, I have been wondering if there will be Perry payback against such rural interests as the Texas Farm Bureau. The TFB had endorsed Perry previously, but went for Kay this time. Perry is known for getting revenge against those who go for his opponent, once he wins.

Peggy Fikacs explores this question in her article "Farm Bureau unworred about Perry payback."

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/columnists/peggy_fikac/Farm_Bureau_unworried_about_Perry_payback.html

Fikacs mentions the Texas Medical Association's former chief lobbyist Kim Ross, who believes Perry was responsible for his ouster after the TMA backed Tony Sanchez instead of Perry in 2002. I myself am aware of another similar situation from the Perry/Sanchez campaign.

However, Fikacs reports that the TFB "neither regrets its support for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison nor worries about reprisals from Gov. Rick Perry." TFB spokesman Gene Hall comments, “Our most recent endorsement of him was followed by the veto of the eminent domain reform bill, which is the most important property rights legislation in the last 20 years. Supporting him and not supporting him seems to be very similar.”

According to Fikacs, "Hall stressed the group has not closed the door on a Perry relationship. He's also not concerned about the Hutchison endorsement affecting his job security, though Perry is credited with a long memory toward those deemed political enemies."

Fikacs asked Perry spokesman Mark Miner if the TFB "might face payback." Miner responded, “We're focused on the general election and looking forward to receiving the support of numerous organizations as we did in the primary.”

Fikacs adds, "He didn't say, 'Or else.'"

Coupland area does NOT go for Perry in the primary

2010-03-05T18:06:00.004-06:00

Here we are, past the primary, and Gov. 39% has become primary winner 51%. I hope that if his victory in the Republican primary leads to another term, Perry's "vision" of the Trans-Texas Corridor is too far gone for him to resurrect it, at least through the Highway 95/Coupland area. The Corridor is still in statute--TxDOT still has the authority to create it. But TTC-35, the route paralleling IH-35 from the Oklahoma border to the Mexican border, is no longer on the drawing board, since its Final Environmental Impact Statement ended with a finding of "no action" or "no build." If Perry decides to come back and pursue TTC-35, the environmental process will have to start over, with years of work and more millions of dollars.

At least, we can see that in the Coupland area, the two precincts around Coupland did not follow the state-wide voting trend. Pct. 433, including Coupland and east of Coupland voted:

Perry 37%
Hutchison 37%
Medina 26%

Pct. 413, beginning just west of Coupland, voted:

Perry 32%
Hutchison 35%
Medina 34%

(percentages rounded)

Fred Barnes cites Trans-Texas Corridor as Perry defeat, cronyism

2010-02-24T18:38:00.005-06:00

In the Feb. 22 Weekly Standard, Fred Barnes has an article on the Texas gubernatorial race--"Texas Deathmatch."

https://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/texas-deathmatch

Barnes notes about Perry, "But he has suffered two significant defeats as governor, and accusations of cronyism and slipshod ethics have grown in recent months.
He proposed building the Trans-Texas Corridor. . . . The plan, which would have included seizing large amounts of private land, was killed [although we know it's not totally killed] by the Republican-led legislature. So was his proposed mandate to vaccinate every sixth-grade girl against a virus that causes cervical cancer. On both issues, former Perry aides were lobbyists for the private companies poised to benefit the most."

In a televised debate sponsored by the Dallas Morning News, [Hutchison] said: “You might ask why did we have a plan for the Trans-Texas Corridor? Why did the governor mandate vaccines for our young daughters? It was because there were lobbyists that were first, not the people of Texas.” Perry, who has defended both proposals, didn’t respond.

Coupland Civic Organization hosts candidates on Feb. 22

2010-02-17T09:56:00.002-06:00

The Coupland Civic Organization will hear from several candidates on Monday, February 22, in the Fellowship Hall of St. Peter’s Church of Coupland. Attendees will hear statements from the candidates, followed by a question and answer session. Speaking will be all three candidates for Judge for County Court-at-Law #3—Republicans Doug Arnold and Judge Randall Pick and Democrat Allyson Rowe. Also speaking will be Jeff Maurice, Democratic candidate for Precinct 4 Williamson County Commissioner.
The audience also will hear from Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Judy Schier Hobbs. Even though Judge Hobbs, who is a Republican, does not have an opponent, either in the primary or the general election, the CCO appreciates her giving us information about the Justice of the Peace office.
A light meal will be served at 6:30 p.m., followed by the program at 7.

Texas traffic counts are flat--we need maintenance more than we need new roads

2010-02-10T14:00:00.004-06:00

Interesting analysis from Roger Baker, with backup data, that Texas traffic counts are flat--NOT increasing, even though this may conflict with perceptions. The below is verbatim from Roger:

Everyone knows that TxDOT loves to build roads. And so do the contractors that TxDOT hires. And not only do these contractors love to build the roads, but they are generously willing to help elect the politicians who decide to build these roads.But at some point, somebody really needs to ask if we need more roads in Texas than we already have. The answer is that we probably don't.

How do we know that? The most recent Federal Highway Administration data shows that from Nov. 2008 to Nov. 2009, the actual use of roads in Texas only increased by .1%, as we see here: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/tvtw/09novtvt/page6.cfm>

In other words, taking the best data for travel on all the roads in Texas combined over the last year, we see that it would take about 100 years for the level of traffic to go up by even 10%. Consider the implications. The legislature is not willing to raise the gas tax, so this necessarily causes the gas tax revenue, both the state and federal portions, to be about flat. Which situation then makes it really really hard for TxDOT to borrow against this revenue stream, which is falling short of even keeping up with inflation.

Even though the travel demand on their current roads is flat, they they still want to build more roads, which would obviously cause TxDOT's maintenance funding shortfall to get even bigger. If TxDOT is as broke as they claim, and demand is flat, then why would they worry so much about anything beyond maintaining the Texas roads we already have?

At least not until someday when the economy recovers and/or we discover a new supply of cheap oil, causing people to start driving more and needing lots of new road capacity, right? TxDOT likes to complain that they can barely afford to maintain their current Texas roads. But the way they chose to deal with the problem is in a way that may be nice for their contractors, but is practically guaranteed to make TxDOT's maintenance problem worse.

Like they say, when things can't go on any longer, they won't. - Roger

USDA scraps National Animal Identification

2010-02-06T09:16:00.002-06:00

Great news from Judith McGeary of Texas Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance! The U.S. Department of Agriculture is dropping its plans for national animal identification. This plan would have forced owners of even one horse, chicken, or other farm animal to have chips implanted in every animal and to notify an authority every time the animal was moved off their property—for instance, for a trail ride, or if an animal temporarily got loose. By way of the computer chip, the authorities would know if the animal had left its property, and legal action could have been taken against the owner. Thankfully for small ranchers and rural animal owners, this plan has been scrapped.

Judith says, “Thank you to the thousands of people who called, wrote, organized meetings, and more. We succeeded in making our voices heard.” USDA will now work on requirements that apply only to animals moved in interstate commerce. For more details, see:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/content/printable_version/faq_traceability.pdf

As for the future, Judith notes, “We must be involved and vocal, so that agribusiness does not develop yet another high-tech, big-industry boondoggle. We must be active at the state level to ensure that the state agencies do not implement unnecessary and burdensome rules.”

Thanks to Judith and her organization and to everyone who worked against this plan that would have been so intrusive and legally harsh for rural animal owners.

High-speed rail not for Texas yet

2010-01-24T10:12:00.004-06:00

The Dallas Morning News has an interesting update on the prospects of high-speed rail in Texas entitled “Most federal rail grants probably will bypass Texas.”

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011910dnmettexrail.3fb19e9.html

Michael Lindenberger reports, “The federal government is about to hand out a river of cash to states willing to build a network of bullet trains. . . . It's the nation's first major investment in true high-speed rail. . . . [W]ord already has emerged that Texas’ chances of snagging much of what it has requested are slim.”

This word comes from Karen Rae, deputy commissioner for the Federal Railroad Administration. She said that applications for the funds from other states had more support from governors and legislatures. She says Texas has “no central vision, no common vision for rail in Texas.”

This is welcome news to those who are still recovering from Perry’s “vision” of the Trans-Texas Corridor. Texas needs a break from central planning—a vision imposed on residents and landowners from the governor and other top officials, their aides and consultants, and their construction contractor contributors.

Lindenberger explains, “The first $8 billion of what could be several times that much money over the next five years is expected to be awarded in the next several weeks. . . . Texas has requested $1.8 billion in the current round of funding, most of it to fast-track a bullet train proposal.” Untold billions more would be needed to actually build and operate the train. Probably, train riders would be subsidized by all taxpayers.

Before Texas commits its funds and its land to this proposal, we must be sure that the project is needed and economically feasible—not a project where the main goal is to direct tax money to construction interests.

The Texas High-Speed Rail site has this map of the Texas T-Bone proposal, which shows the route going through Williamson County east of IH-35. To see a larger version, go to

http://www.thsrtc.com/about_texas_tbone_route.html

Kay Bailey Hutchison specific anti-Corridor ad

2010-01-06T18:34:00.002-06:00

Succinct anti-Corridor statement from KBH.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8D2fiO9GPg

A special version will run during the game tomorrow night. A special ending has been tailored just for this purpose. I can't find it to post here, so you'll just have to watch for it.

Gov. 39%--NOT so proud of the Corridor anymore

2009-12-18T09:46:00.003-06:00

The Dallas Morning News covers the Trans-Texas Corridor being taken off Perry’s website in a political blog entry, “Rick Perry’s bio: Now you see it, now you don’t.”
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/12/somethings-missing-from-the-te.html#comments
Wayne Slater reports, “Something's missing from the Texas governor's official state website. Gone from Rick Perry's biography is any mention of the Trans-Texas Corridor, the beleaguered toll-road project the governor once touted as a crowning jewel accomplishment of his tenure in office. . . . The changes on the official state website come as Perry is stepping up his reelection campaign against rival Kay Bailey Hutchison.”

“Hutchison has been critical of Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor idea. Although popular with construction interests, the project ran afoul of landowners espousing property rights and other opponents of toll roads.”

Presumably, Perry’s team thinks “out-of-sight, out-of-mind”-- that rural residents and their allies will forget all about Perry’s attempt to pull off the largest land grab in Texas history for the benefit of his “construction interest” pals. I guess we’ll see in the Republican primary results if what was a core part of Perry’s base will forgive and forget or if enough of them will have a memory like an elephant and forsake Gov. 39%.

Coupland Civic Organization holds first event at newly restored historic Depot

2009-12-05T15:55:00.008-06:00

Halloween Party at Coupland Depot

Congratulations to the Coupland Civic Organization! Work on the historic Coupland Depot is completed, and the CCO was able to host a community Halloween party at the Depot. Next up will be repairing the caboose that sits next to the Depot. Eventually, the CCO hopes to build a pavilion for community gatherings on the Depot grounds.

The CCO is raising funds for the caboose work by selling personalized pavers that will become part of the sidewalk leading from the street to the Depot. To buy a personalized paver in honor or memory of a person, or in honor of a family or business, get a paver order form on the CCO website:

www.couplandtx.org/

Lone Star Rail hopes to move UP freight to Coupland area

2009-11-25T10:09:00.003-06:00

The Statesman’s Ben Wear has provided an update on moving freight rail out of Austin to the Coupland area to make way for passenger rail on Union Pacific’s Austin line. Here’s the link to his column “A rail district by any other name still needs money.”

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/09/1109wear.html

Recently, the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District held a news conference to announce that they have changed their name to the Lone Star Rail District.

Wear notes, “[T]he train service is still mostly a line on a map. As agency board chairman Sid Covington says, the main obstacles to creating a commuter line between Austin and San Antonio are now and always have been Union Pacific freights and money. . . . To make commuter rail viable, almost all of Union Pacific's freight runs would have to be moved to new or refurbished tracks east of the existing tracks.”

The 2008 Central Texas Rail Relocation Study shows two alternatives for the freight rail—expanding the rail line that goes through Coupland or constructing a new line from Taylor to San Antonio through the countryside west of Coupland. Wear points out, “Rerouting the Union Pacific trains from Taylor . . . would cost anywhere from almost $900 million . . . to $2.4 billion. The rail district last year was saying that construction of the line itself would take another $600 million.”

The Lone Star Rail District hopes that TxDOT and Union Pacific will pay for the alternate freight route.

Wear reports, “As for the passenger rail construction — 16 stations, trains, track and signal improvements, maintenance facilities — Lone Star officials see TxDOT paying half, the other half split roughly in thirds among governments in the Austin area, Bexar County and Comal and Hays counties.”

Right now, there is no money for this construction. What is new now is the Rail District will receive $40 million from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization for design work and the environmental process. Wear says that these studies will begin early in 2010.

Don't squander groundwater resources in Eastern Central Texas

2009-11-21T13:47:00.004-06:00

Following the article in the Austin American-Statesman on November 10 that was the subject of our previous post, the paper ran coverage on November 18 of a second large pipeline planned to bring water from the east to the San Marcos area, “Looking east for a water supply.”

Yesterday, the Statesman ran a thoughtful editorial discussing these huge depletions of our area’s water resources and what sort of controls could be implemented so that the available water will be used for the good of the public. Here’s the link to the editorial “Can’t let it come down to the last straw.”
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/11/20/1120water_edit.html

Some excerpts:
“The American-Statesman's Asher Price reported earlier this week that the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority is talking to a water developer firm about buying 45 million gallons of water per day from Bastrop and Lee counties for consumption in the San Marcos area.

“Lee and Bastrop residents would have every right to question why ‘their’ water would be shipped elsewhere. Under Texas law, groundwater is a commodity, like any other, to be bought and sold to the highest bidder.

“’If they all ramp up in the next 10 or 15 years, we won't possibly be able to dish out that much water,’ said Pat Cooper, Lost Pines general manager. The amount Limmer [End-Op, the company directed by former Williamson County Commissioner Frankie Limmer] has applied to pump — if actually pumped — would ‘take us to our limit and beyond our limit when you look 40, 50 years out,’ Cooper said.

“That's a lot of pumps sucking up the water underneath Bastrop and Lee Counties with minimal objective oversight . . . Given the competition that already exists and the increased demand for water, the Legislature is going to be asked to referee. . . . Inaction risks exhausting the supply so that everyone loses.”

Water profiteering on the backs of rural landowners

2009-11-17T14:00:00.005-06:00

If you are in the Eastern Williamson/Travis area, another project to be aware of is the new water pipeline of Cross County Water Supply Corp. This project was covered by the Statesman on November 10: “Pipeline nearing approval to deliver water to Manor area—Project is part of race to bring water for development near Texas 130.”

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/10/1110travispipe.html

At the time this article was written, approval by the Travis County commissioners had not yet been secured, but they have since approved the project. Up to $40 million in tax-exempt bonds would be used to build a 52-mile water pipeline from Burleson County through Lee and Williamson counties to the Eastern Travis County area. Please click on the link to the article to see a map.

The Statesman notes that the project “is part of a lucrative race to serve the semirural area around Texas 130. . . [T]he transformation of the land into subdivisions and shopping centers is contingent on the shipment of water, and whoever delivers it could profit handsomely.”

Cross County is set up as a non-profit. However, behind Cross County are for-profit entities hoping to “profit handsomely” on the backs of rural property owners. The Statesman says, “Cross County counts as its customer Blue Water Systems, run by Austin real estate investor Ross Cummings, which has developed wells in Burleson County, said Pat Reilly, a director of Cross County. Blue Water, in turn, has a deal to sell water to publicly traded Southwest Water Co., Reilly said.”

Burleson County landowners Terry and Linda Ausley have been sued by Cross County because they would not give permission for the company “to perform topographical, environmental and geotechnical surveys on their land as a prelude to acquiring an easement for the water pipeline.”

The Ausleys have countersued, saying that Cross County “was formed . . . as a Texas nonprofit corporation for the sole purpose of fraudulently providing a mechanism for obtaining easements below market rate via threat of condemnation for purposes of securing a pipeline location . . .”

Fraud is already connected with this project. The Statesman notes, “The water would come from groundwater leases in Burleson County originally acquired by Metropolitan Water Co., whose president and founder is William Scott Carlson. In 2004, Cummings put up $1 million to cover Carlson's bail after he was jailed for violating the terms of his probation in a fraud case.”

Prop 11 passes overwhelmingly--analysis from Corridor Watch

2009-11-08T18:00:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Linda and David Stall for all their work against the Corridor for many years and for their recent analysis of the passage of Prop 11. As they point out, Prop 11, with more protection against eminent domain, passed by the largest margin of any proposition on the ballot, with a four to one margin. Over 80 percent of the voters were for Prop 11.

Corridor Watch says:
"This vote provides Texas property owners greater protection from the kind of eminent domain abuse opportunities created by the United States Supreme Court ruling in Kelo vs. City of New London. It makes it harder for the state to expand the number of entities that can exercise eminent domain power. It limits excessive use of eminent domain in the name of eliminating urban blight. And, most importantly it sends a strong message to the Governor and Legislature that Texans take private property rights very seriously.

"With Proposition 11 passed, additional protections are still required to fully protect private property rights. The legislature needs to revisit the kind of protections that would have been created under House Bill 2006 as introduced, overwhelmingly passed and vetoed by Governor Perry in 2007. Property owners deserve full and just compensation for property seized by the government. Property owners also deserve compensation for diminished access that results from the use of eminent domain.

"In vetoing HB-2006 in 2007 Governor Perry said that it would cost the state too much. We believe that seizing private property should be hard, should be expensive, and should only be used as the last resort.

"Projects like the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) need to stand on their own merits and not on the state's ability to take land away from private owners at costs well below market value. And most importantly, state power should never be used to seize private property for the purpose of generating state revenue, whether it's by lease, sale, or toll concession.

"The TTC was always about generating revenue first and providing transportation second. Proposition 11 is another step forward in our effort to ensure that the threat on private property created by the TTC (no matter what new name it may be given) never returns."

Corridor Watch and other property rights advocates like the Texas Farm Bureau are ready to come back at the beginning of next session to try to get additional eminent domain protections. The passage of Prop 11 makes this job easier than it would have been if Prop 11 had not passed. If the voters had not passed Prop 11, it would have sent a message to our elected officials that the people were not really that interested in getting more protection against eminent domain.

Texas Farm Bureau--FOR Prop. 11

2009-10-27T11:20:00.003-05:00

Regan Beck, associate legislative director of the Texas Farm Bureau, spoke to the Coupland Civic Organization at their October 26 meeting. He covered the issues of interest to farmers, ranchers, and other rural residents during the last session of the Legislature.

Regarding trying to protect property rights, he called it “all in all, a good session, but not a great session.” The TFB’s efforts were partially successful against eminent domain. Regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor, he said, “We want to take it off the books. We were so close at the end of the session in getting this [and other things that were in HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset bill], but it fell through.”

He noted that HB 300 would have repealed the Trans-Texas Corridor. It also included diminished access protection in eminent domain actions. Since HB 300 failed to pass, the Legislature had to extend the existence of TxDOT during the special session and will have to deal with TxDOT’s Sunset process during the next regular session.

The good news—TFB is pleased with $30 million in aid that passed for rural Texans, including funds for boll weevil eradication, feral hog control, and repair for earthen flood control dams. [Ed Komandosky, secretary/treasurer of Brushy Creek Water Control and Improvement District, spoke to the last meeting of the Coupland Civic Organization about the funding and repair work on the dams in our area.]

Beck calls SB 18 “a great bill that included good faith negotiation to treat the landowner as fairly as possible, by negotiating in good faith upfront before the property is condemned.” SB 18 also included more disclosures for the property owner and a ten-year buy-back provision, whereby if the condemning entity did not use the property within ten years, the owner could buy it back for the same price he was paid for it. Unfortunately, SB 18 was one of the bills left unpassed when time ran out at the end of the session.

Much of the problems that property owners have with condemning entities are not even with governments, but with others who have been given the power of condemnation, such as pipeline companies. There was a provision that the comptroller would be notified of all entities that have power to condemn. Then, if an entity does not sign up with comptroller, it loses its condemnation power. Unfortunately, this was not passed.

Beck said, “HJR 14 was passed and is Proposition 11 on the ballot. We still need to do more on eminent domain, but Prop 11 helps.” When asked if the TFB was prepared to start early next session to get more eminent domain protections, he said yes. He noted that this last session, it took too long to get more protections through the Senate--too long to get some Senators on board--and then the legislation failed in the last-minute gridlock. In this coming session, Beck hopes that the Senators already will be prepared to support protections, so that legislation can move through faster.

Proposition 11--a needed first step for protection against eminent domain

2009-10-23T11:28:00.005-05:00

Some are against Prop. 11 because it does not contain strong enough protections against eminent domain. However, such entities as the Texas Farm Bureau and Corridor Watch are for Prop. 11 because it is a first step. The TFB and other advocates intend to go back next session of the Legislature and push for even stronger protections. Below are excerpts from Corridor Watch's David and Linda Stall:

"Proposition 11 strikes back against the Supreme Court's 2005 Kelo v. City of New London ruling that private property can be taken by the government for the private benefit of another for economic development purposes or increasing tax revenue.

"If passed, Proposition 11 would specifically prohibit the use of eminent domain power 'for the primary purpose of economic development or enhancement of tax revenue.'

"This was a very serious threat in the original Trans Texas Corridor plan. When that plan became law in 2003 it included the power to take land for ancillary facilities for the express purpose of generating revenue. Since then the legislature removed that sweeping authority. Proposition 11 would ensure that such power is never restored.

"Additionally, Proposition 11 would restrict the expansion of eminent domain authority to more public or private entities; and, would limit excessive use of eminent domain to eliminate urban blight.

"Even if Proposition 11 passes, additional protections will be required to fully protect our private property rights. In 2007 the legislature overwhelmingly passed law (HB-2006) that would have provided much needed protection. Unfortunately, our Governor objected to granting those protections and vetoed that law.

"What message will you send the Legislature? The votes cast FOR or AGAINST Proposition 11 will serve as an indicator of public interest in protecting private property rights. If the measure passes strongly it will signal a continued public demand for protection of private property. If the measure fails, it will signal a loss of public concern over private property rights.

"Those of us who still want to see strong protections(like HB-2006) adopted into statute need Proposition 11 to pass by a large margin."

Learn how you too can stop the Corridor from coming through your community

2009-10-18T12:46:00.002-05:00

We have just witnessed a major blow against the Corridor--TxDOT chose the "no-build" or "no action" alternative for the TTC-35 Environmental Impact Statement, meaning that TTC-35 would NOT be built, at least as far as this environmental process is concerned.

A major reason that TxDOT was forced to choose the "no-build" option was the "coordination" action taken by the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC) in Bell and Milam counties. Sitting in the path of TTC-35, these five small cities and their associated school districts stopped the Corridor in its tracks. Dan and Margaret Byfield and their non-profit American Stewards of Libery were instrumental in forming the ECTSRPC.

Now, American Stewards of Liberty is holding its annual Call America conference in Denver, November 5-7, to teach others how to implement this "coordination" strategy. For further information, go to the website stewards.us and click on Call America 2009.

Corridor--especially TTC-35--continues to be killed

2009-10-09T21:52:00.002-05:00

MORE BLOWS AGAINST THE CORRIDOR
This week, more of the building blocks enabling the Trans-Texas Corridor, specifically TTC-35, have been destroyed. Previously, in the special session, legislators killed the funding mechanism for the Corridor—the Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDA) with private companies. Also earlier this year, TxDOT announced it would not proceed with the overall Corridor plan and would consider it segment by segment. Now, TTC-35 has been terminated in two different ways.

CINTRA/ZACHRY CONTRACT CANCELED
First, TxDOT has canceled the contract with Cintra, the Spanish corporation, and its partner Zachry to build TTC-35. Cintra/Zachry had a CDA with TxDOT to plan and build TTC-35. In the special session, the overall CDA process was done away with, and now Cintra’s specific CDA has been canceled. Cintra has produced a plan, has been paid millions for planning, and may be paid more millions for the state to extricate itself from the complicated contracts negotiated by Giuliani Bracewell (the law firm of Perry pal Rudy Giuliani). However, Cintra will not do any building on TTC-35 except for the two southern segments of SH 130 that are underway and which will now be considered SH 130, not part of TTC-35.

NO-BUILD OPTION/NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE
Secondly, the environmental process on TTC-35 ends with a recommendation by TxDOT to the Federal Highway Administration to do nothing—called the “no-build option” or the “no action alternative.”

TxDOT, using taxpayer funds, spent years of time and energy and millions of dollars on TTC-35, reportedly $131 million for planning and environmental work. In addition to all of this wasted effort and money on the part of TxDOT, there are the untold volunteer hours, contributions, and worry on the part of residents in the threatened areas and supporters around the state.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the 4,000-page document showing a general TTC-35 route, was released in 2006, and the Final EIS was scheduled to be released in 2007. TxDOT officials said that the decision not to build TTC-35 was in response to comments from citizens received during the environmental process. Of course, during the entire TTC-35 ordeal, TxDOT has not cared at all about citizens’ opinions.

WHAT REALLY KILLED TTC-35--

COMMUNITY AND POLITICAL PRESSURE IN THE LEGISLATURE
Even though citizen comments per se did not affect TxDOT, it was important that tens of thousands of residents attended the various levels of meetings and hearings, spoke against TTC-35, signed petitions, and submitted written comments. This effort formed the foundation of community organizations working against the Corridor and the process of influencing legislators and electing new legislators.

This, in turn, resulted in the legislature gradually turning against the Corridor and eliminating the Comprehensive Development Agreement tool.

EASTERN CENTRAL TEXAS SUB-REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION (ECTSRPC)
The reason that TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration finally had no way to continue with the TTC-35 EIS was the action of the ECTSRPC in Bell and Milam counties. Five small towns and their associated school districts formed their Sub-Regional Planning Commission, and by state law, TxDOT was compelled to “coordinate” with their Commission. This meant that TxDOT had to take into account what the ECTSRPC citizens wanted and cover all required issues in the EIS process. TxDOT had not done this, meaning that the EIS was not legal and could not be recognized as legal by the Federal Highway Administration.

The ECTSRPC announced: “Selecting that option [no build] was exactly what the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission (ECTSRPC) forced TxDOT into choosing. . . . The planning commission began a series of what is called coordination meetings in the fall of 2007, by utilizing a little known state statute that forced the behemoth agency to come to Holland, Texas. . . . TxDOT came to Holland on three different occasions where they were asked to explain why they were going to destroy five towns and their school districts with a 1,200 foot-wide, 146 acre per mile toll road.

“‘Through coordination, we forced them to our table and then we used the federal NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) statute to box them in a legal corner out of which they could not escape,’ stated Ralph Snyder, a local Holland businessman and board member of the ECTSRPC. ‘That's what forced TxDOT to recommend 'No Build' to the Federal Highway Administration because we had shown how TxDOT, as the agent of the federal government, had violated the federal statute in at least 29 ways,’ Snyder continued.

“Fred Grant, president of American Stewards of Liberty, is the originator of the coordination strategy that brought TxDOT to their knees.”

FUTURE OF TTC-35 AND THE CORRIDOR CONCEPT
Some more time and paperwork is required to complete the TTC-35 EIS process, at the end of which the Federal Highway Administration will issue its Record of Decision approving the “No Action Alternative.” This is what so many of us asked in our comments, never thinking it would actually happen--it hardly ever happens--but now it is the final result!

Even though the Legislature has gradually turned against the Corridor concept, the legislation enabling it is still on the books. In addition, the Trans-Texas Corridor began as Gov. Perry’s “vision,” and he has never renounced it. We have to remain vigilant as long as the Corridor statute has not been repealed, and as long as Perry or anyone else who supports the concept is in the governor’s office.

Texas Farm Bureau switches from Perry to KBH

2009-10-05T11:53:00.003-05:00

KBH has just received the important endorsement of the Texas Farm Bureau. In the past, the TFB has endorsed Perry, even as it has issued strong statements against the Trans-Texas Corridor and in favor of stronger protections against eminent domain. Now, the TFB sees a viable alternative to Perry in KBH and has made the switch. Excerpts from their endorsement release:

When it comes to selecting the next governor of Texas, the choice boils down to one question for farm and ranch families in the Lone Star State: Which candidate can you trust?

"Time and again U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has earned both our trust and respect by listening to our concerns and acting on issues that matter," said Kenneth Dierschke, president of the Texas Farm Bureau.

Dierschke cited many examples of her support for Texas agriculture. Among them: her record in dealing with the Endangered Species Act, property rights issues, health care reform, the Farm Bill, the Clean Water Act and various trade issues.

On farm issues in particular, the senior senator from Texas has stood strong for farmers and ranchers from the Lone Star State, Dierschke added.

TTC-35 Final Environmental Impact Statement STILL not released

2009-09-27T12:10:00.002-05:00

The TTC-35 nvironmental Impact Statement (FEIS), which is expected to show that SH 130 will be the Corridor route through Williamson County, was due out in 2007. Now, in the last quarter of 2009, there is still no FEIS.

The Hillsboro Reporter noted in August that John A. Barton, TxDOT assistant executive director in charge of engineering operations, said that a ruling on the FEIS by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) “is expected by the end of the year, but there has been no decision on what to do with the study if it is approved,” because “the corridor system proposed by Governor Rick Perry fell by the wayside following political pressure from rural Texas residents.”

Standing Ground, published by Dan and Margaret Byfield, reports that the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission has filed a petition with the FHWA requesting that the study be rejected because “time has expired for [TxDOT] to complete the study under the Texas Administrative Code, the Texas Legislature denied authorization for CDA’s [the funding mechanism] for the TTC, and the entire project has changed significantly, making the current TTC environmental study obsolete.”

The Commission is awaiting a response from the FHWA, while preparing for the next step. The DEIS did not address some issues that should have been addressed, which can be challenged in a court of law. The Byfields conclude that “the once fast-tracked project is now at a standstill as TxDOT and the FHWA determine which direction to head, given the illegalities of the environmental study.”

Restrictions on eminent domain No. 11 on Nov. ballot

2009-09-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

An eminent domain constitutional amendment will be on the November 3 ballot. Proposition 11 will help prevent in Texas what happened in the 2005 Kelo case, where the U.S. Supreme Court upheld taking property from one private owner and giving it to another private owner, for the purpose of economic development. This amendment to the Texas constitution will limit the taking of private property to a public use, not private development.

Vince May files 290 E tolling lawsuit against TxDOT, others

2009-09-22T09:48:00.004-05:00

Vince May has filed his lawsuit regarding tolling 290 East against CTRMA, CAMPO, TxDOT, and the Federal Highway Administration. The major points are below. Keep an eye out for media coverage as news of this suit spreads.

"Plaintiff will enter into a binding agreement with defendants, with surety, if defendants agree to build and operate the 290E project under the terms of the 290E Environmental Assessment, as presented to the public in August 2008, and further provided that defendants begin construction before February 1 2010 and complete the continuous 3-lane frontage roads from US 183 to east of Parmer Lane before commencing work on the main lanes, or main lane bridges, other than movement of earth, or removal of existing pavements and structures.

"If this agreement can not be amicably concluded, plaintiff prays that the Judge will order that the 290E Finding Of No Significant Impact is null and void, and that defendants may only proceed after completing an Environmental Impact Statement if they seek federal money or loans.

"Further, plaintiff prays that the Judge will enjoin defendants from denying access to public information requested by the public pursuant to any future Environmental Assessments or Environmental Impact Statements. This request pertains especially to 'Traffic & Revenue Studies,' no matter what stage of completion, whether Preliminary or Investment Grade."

Poll results against tolling 290 East

2009-09-18T09:00:00.003-05:00

Here are the results of the poll on tolling 290 East from Jim Lutz. Thanks to Jim for undertaking this project. Respondents who live in the Manor area and who routinely drive 290 East were overwhelmingly against tolling 290 East and for financing highways with gas taxes instead of tolls.

Internet Opinion Poll Voters Reject Segment 1 of the Manor Tollway by a Margin of 83 Against to 48 In Favor (9-18-09)

An internet poll asking for citizen opinions for and against the tolling of US 290 was announced in the Manor Messenger issue of September 10th. During the 8 days of polling between 9-10-09 and 9-17-09 there were 185 opinions registered online.
The largest number of voters were from the East Travis County area.

The three polling questions included…
1. I live or work east of I35 and routinely use US 290 East ...Agree or Disagree
2. New construction of and improvements to existing major Texas arterial roadways should be financed by……choose A. Gas Taxes or B. Toll Roads
3. I approve of the tolling of US 290 East between 183 continuing east of the intersection of 290E/Springdale ….Agree or Disagree

Finally a box was provided for a signature and zip code.

A total of 185 entries were entered in the opinion poll. 54 respondents neither provided a signature and/or a zip code or were duplicate entries. These were rejected. The poll results reflect the opinions of the remaining 131 respondents.

In total 83 citizens voted against the US 290 toll road and 48 residents favored its construction.

East Travis County residents with zip codes in the Manor, Elgin, Coupland and Samsung areas totaled 91 voters of the total of 131 voters. Of these 71 votes were registered against the toll road and 29 votes favored the toll road construction as described in the poll. The remaining zip codes represent citizens in other areas. The designated zip codes were found in ZipCodes.com.

35 votes were registered from the immediate 78653 Manor area code and included 28 votes against the toll road and 7 votes favoring the toll road.

Of the total 131 voters, 24 respondents didn’t use US 290 routinely. Sixteen of these 24 non user respondents also voted in favor of the US 290 toll road .

Nearly all of the voters against the US 290E toll road also voted in favor of gas taxes over poll taxes as a means of financing “major Texas arterial roadways”.

Thank you for your participation in this poll. Free poll software is available from Google at Google Docs.

Jim Lutz
Manor Area Citizen

More misleading info from CTRMA about tolling 290 E

2009-09-13T12:06:00.003-05:00

Fancy Fairchild, area resident and long-time opponent of tolling 290 E, has written the following letter in rebuttal to the CTRMA's Heiligenstein:

"Mike Heiligenstein, Exec. Director of CTRMA, and other people who work for that agency have given 'misleading public information' (a nice way of saying it) to the public on several occasions.
At the Environmental, Social, and Economic Impact Hearing on August 8, 2008, CTRMA spokesmen said that with their toll plan there would be 3 free lanes on 290 E with no charge for flyover bridges. They said it would cost an estimated 15 cents per mile in 2010 to drive on the toll road, with the rate to be raised 2.75% annually.

"A couple of months after this hearing, CTRMA asked CAMPO to approve a new plan essentially changing the number of free lanes from 3 to 2 and charges for using flyover bridges (with new bridges added to the plan). Their new plan also changes the way the rates are decided so that a higher percentage of rate can be charged. With the new plan, the costs of driving the toll road would greatly increase.

"The 'free lanes' Mr. Heiligenstein continually promises would not be like the freeway we currently use. Last year during a meeting at the Blackland Prairie citizen’s organization, CTRMA’s Assistant Exec. Director Amadeo Saenz admitted that the speed limit on the 'free' lanes would average 35 mph and that several lights would be added in order to (and I quote) 'force people to drive on the toll road.'

"It’s too bad TXDOT, CTRMA, and other transportation agencies did not do what they should have done all along: create a viable, affordable plan to deal with 290 East traffic with the money they already have. A lawsuit is apparently the only way to get them to do that. The 290 East toll project is so frail it has to be propped up with federal stimulus money meant to provide aid to citizens. Federal stimulus funds should not finance an expensive and unnecessary toll road whose profits will go to perpetuate even more toll roads."

Take the poll about tolling 290 East

2009-09-09T13:45:00.004-05:00

If you have an opinion on tolling 290 East, Jim Lutz has created a poll to register your opinion.
His poll is on his website bolaman. Just click on this link:
http://www.bolaman.com/290TollPoll%209-09.htm

The poll asks for names and zip codes, but the names will not be published. A notice about this poll will appear in this Thursday's Manor Messenger.

Jim said, "I have had only a few comments about the proposed lawsuit in opposition to the 290 E latest toll plan. I thought it would be worthwhile to create an online poll similar to one created a few years ago about whether local citizens support or oppose the latest TxDot/CTRMA 290 toll plan. I am not personally a litigant but I think the results may have an impact one way or the other....The toll poll can be found at ....http://www.bolaman.com/290TollPoll%209-09.htm."

This toll poll announcement has been sent to the ACRE email list and the Blackland Prairie Concerned Citizens list.

Please see the previous post about donating to the lawsuit against tolling 290 East.

Donations requested for lawsuit against tolling 290 E

2009-08-30T16:40:00.003-05:00

Vince May has begun the process of filing a lawsuit against the tolling of 290 East. Below is the most recent status. Please mail donations to support his suit to Jim Lutz at the address below; make checks payable to Vince May.

Here's Vince's update:

"Many of you know that a legal process was begun in April to stop the TxDOT/CTRMA 290E toll project. FHWA was asked to do an administrative review of everything that has happened and decide if the 290E Environmental Assessment (EA) should be redone.Andrew Hawkins (SOS attorney) and several others initiated this Complaint. FHWA has not responded and the Complaint will soon expire. That would let CTRMA sell bonds and commence construction.

"People who live in the corridor are determined to stop the toll project.Our only avenue at this point is to file suit in federal court. We will ask a judge to set aside the 290E EA. We prefer a parkway with 3 lanes be built instead of the current 2 lanes. This can be done with the federal stimulus money. Our plan would make it easy to retrofit bridges at major intersections (like Springdale Rd) when they are needed in 5 or 10 years. This can be done with gas taxes. (Congress will soon vote to raise the federal gas tax by 50%.)

"We attempted to find a pro-bono lawyer to take the case. None could take on an expensive case. Therefore, we will file pro se. I do expect that a lawyer may intervene on our side after the case is filed but first we must file the complaint in federal court. It will then likely take ~60 days before any court proceedings begin.

"We need $400 to file and would like to have $200 to spend on contingency. We need help to raise this sum. I am asking as many people who can to contribute $10 by September 14th. We would much rather have 60 people donate $10 each rather than one person bear the whole cost. If you can send more than $10, that would be great.

"Donations can be sent to:
Jim Lutz
14812 FM 973N
Manor, Tx. 78653

"If Andrew's process stops the 290E project, Jim will return any unspent donations as best he can. If your phone number is on your check he will call you and confirm that the check is torn up. Otherwise any cash received will be donated to one of the 3 food banks that serve poor people in Manor.

"Vince"

Burka analyzes WSJ "Perry Puff Piece"

2009-08-28T21:19:00.003-05:00

Texas Monthly's Paul Burka comments on the WSJ interview with Perry that was the subject of our previous post.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=4502

Burka's is a lengthy post, and there are sure to be many interesting comments eventually. It was just posted at 8:25 p.m. Regarding the quote under discussion in our previous post, Burka says:

"Hmmm. In 1976 Perry was a Democrat. Maybe he was motivated by Reagan, but Reagan wasn’t really Reagan yet. This seems pretty self-serving to me."

Perry lies about being at '76 Republican convention, if WSJ quote is accurate

2009-08-27T20:35:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Martha Estes for pointing out the info from the Hutchison campaign.

" . . .in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Rick Perry talked about the 1976 Republican convention and Ronald Reagan. Perry said that people at the convention "were looking around and saying 'we nominated the wrong dude.'" The problem is that Rick Perry was a Democrat in 1976, he voted for Jimmy Carter that year, and he remained a Democrat until 1989. Not only would he not have voted for Reagan in 1976 had he been the nominee, but Rick Perry remained a Democrat throughout the Reagan years."

If it's not lying from Perry about "looking around" at the Republican convention and "we" nominating the wrong dude, it is at least a huge misrepresentation. Paraphrasing the old commercial, "It's not nice to fool with the Wall Street Journal."

Can he get away with this? Does it make enough people mad enough to deprive Perry of enough votes to get re-elected? We'll see.

High-speed rail--bad idea for the U.S.

2009-08-24T18:51:00.003-05:00

Interesting explanation from Real Clear Politics--the reasons that high-speed rail is not a good idea for this country.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/08/24/high-speed_boondoggle_97999.html

The comments on public funds and subsidized tickets for a very few commuters and travelers also apply to Austin's venture into light rail.

A few quotes:

"The Obama administration's enthusiasm for high-speed rail is a dispiriting example of government's inability to learn from past mistakes. Since 1971, the federal government has poured almost $35 billion of subsidies into Amtrak with few public benefits. At most, we've gotten negligible reductions -- invisible and statistically insignificant -- in congestion, oil use or greenhouse gases. What's mainly being provided is subsidized transportation for a small sliver of the population."

"Given this, you'd think even the dullest politician wouldn't expand rail subsidies, especially considering the almost $11 trillion of projected federal budget deficits between now and 2019. But no, the administration has made high-speed rail a top priority. It's already proposed spending $13 billion ($8 billion in the "stimulus" package and $1 billion annually for five years) as a down payment on high-speed rail in 10 "corridors," including Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and Houston to New Orleans."

"President Obama's network may never be built. Its doubtful private investors will advance the money and once government officials acknowledge the full costs, they'll retreat. In a recent report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) cited a range of construction costs, from $22 million a mile to $132 million a mile. Harvard economist Edward Glaeser figures $50 million a mile might be a plausible average."

"What works in Europe and Asia won't in the United States. Even abroad, passenger trains are subsidized. But the subsidies are more justifiable because geography and energy policies differ.
Densities are much higher . . ."

"Distances also matter. America is big; trips are longer. Beyond 400 to 500 miles, fast trains can't compete with planes."

"Governments at all levels are already overburdened. Compounding the burdens with new wasteful subsidies would squeeze spending for more vital needs -- schools, police and (ironically) mass transit."

Hutchison denounces the Corridor in her kick-off speech

2009-08-17T15:00:00.003-05:00

The Trans-Texas Corridor was denounced by Kay Bailey Hutchison in her campaign kick-off speech today.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2009/08/17/hutchison_hits_perry_hard_in_k.html

She criticized TxDOT, calling it:

“'the most arrogant, unaccountable state agency in the history of Texas,' saying she wants to expand it to represent more regions of the state. A proposal to do just that died in the Legislature this year."

She said that she would kill the Corridor:

“Then there’s the Trans-Texas Corridor. The biggest land grab in the history of Texas. And the governor wanted to turn it over to a foreign company to build toll roads. Well, they can call it the Trans-Texas Corridor. Or they can call it something different. But here’s what I will call it when I take the oath of office: dead, buried, history.”

News from annual Texas Transportation Summit

2009-08-15T11:45:00.002-05:00

TURF's Terri Hall is covering the Texas Transportation Summit on her San Antonio Express-news blog. See her coverage here:

http://voices.mysanantonio.com/terrihall/

Hutchison makes Trans-Texas Corridor an issue in gubernatorial race

2009-08-11T15:53:00.005-05:00

Thanks to Martha Estes for alerting us to the Trans-Texas Corridor popping up in the Perry-Hutchison race. As explained in the Dallas Morning News transportation blog

http://transportationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/08/hutchison-jabs-perry-again-ove.html

KBH has started a Corridor clock running on one of her websites.

http://texans.forkay.com/pages/clock

"Hutchison's campaign team is betting that it [the TTC] will be an issue. They've been sending out messages in the past couple days highlighting what they say is Perry's stubborn support for his Trans Texas Corridor idea.

"Apparently, the Governor hasn't sufficiently disavowed the program. . . .
Still, the Legislature left town this year without extending the state's authority to make private contracts for toll roads. Without the ability to partner with private companies to build and operate toll roads, the TTC -- whatever it is called -- is as worthless as last year's bets on the Derby. Right?

"Where Hutchison's team is on firmer footing is in questioning whether Perry has ever truly disavowed the TTC. He never has. He bowed to the political reality that it wouldn't fly, but he has never apologized or retreated from his position that it was a good idea.

"What he has done . . . is say that he and TxDOT made mistakes in the way they presented the idea, essentially scaring the holy business out of farmers and ranchers who saw on the early corridor maps huge expanses of lands subject to eminent domain.

"[I]t is exactly those folks -- the landowners, and not so much the toll road opponents -- that team Hutchison is attempting to reach with its latest barrage of thrusts at Perry and the Trans Texas Corridor.

"Will transportation play a big role in your vote for governor next year? If so, are you sufficiently mad about tolls to hold Perry accountable?

"[H]ere is the gist of the Hutchison attack on Perry, from campaign spokesman Jeff Sadosky:
'Texans deserve a straight yes or no from Rick Perry on whether he still supports his controversial Trans-Texas Corridor plan to confiscate nearly 600,000 acres of land. His refusal to say is just another attempt by Rick Perry to cover-up his record of doing what's right for himself but wrong for Texas.'"

"The 290 E project is falling apart"

2009-08-09T16:26:00.003-05:00

Ben Wear's recent coverage of the shrinking plan to toll 290 E

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/2009/08/05/0805tollroad.html

has brought out varying ideas of what is really going on and what will happen on 290 E.

Vince May, Elgin-area resident, who has been fighting the 290 E toll plan for years, has sent out this message:

"The 290E project is falling apart.

"1) Notice that they have reneged on the promise of 3-lane frontage roads. This will mean only 1 lane going straight through at intersections. That is less than we have now, and violates state law.Why do I say this? Drive to Walmart on 183S. The frontage roads are 3 lanes. As you approach Cameron Rd the frontage road widens to 6 lanes. But only 2 lanes go straight through the light. No matter what time of day, there is always a queue in those lanes. You have to wait through 3 or more signal cycles during rush hour. TxDOT did this to force people to get on the proposed toll lanes and stay on the toll lanes. I have the map for the part of 183S that is still proposed for tolling. It has 2 lane frontage roads but the frontage roads narrow down to 1 lane at some intersections. I have to assume that they plan the same thing for 290E.

"2) Look at the $91 million that they plan to spend "buying right of way for the remaining several miles" while they have bridges missing on the first mile. This money will be spent on Kirk Watson's property and Green Line infrastructure, none of which is 290E ROW. I wonder if any of our other illustrious leaders are partners with Kirk?

"I don't think any of this will actually happen. But this is what they intended all along. Promise you a nice road for 15 cents per mile, then build an abomination and charge 50 cents per mile."

Hope to be back soon

2009-07-28T21:04:00.003-05:00

Have been hors de combat for the last three weeks due to an injury in the family and will still be gone for probably three more weeks. Luckily, it's a relatively slow season for Corridor news, although rail news is building, and the gubernatorial campaign is getting into full swing.

CDA Corridor funding mechanism killed by the Lege

2009-07-02T22:32:00.004-05:00

Today the mechanism that would have funded the Trans-Texas Corridor was not renewed by the Legislature. Gov. Perry had asked legislators to pass three things during the special session: (1) continuing the existence of a few state agencies including TxDOT until the 2011 session; (2) allowing the state to issue $2 billion in transportation bonds; and (3) extending the ability to fund toll roads through comprehensive development agreements (CDA’s) by public-private partnerships (PPP’s).

CDA’s to die on August 31

The House and Senate passed the bill to keep TxDOT alive until they can consider reforms in the 2011 session, and they allowed the $2 billion in transportation bonds. They did NOT extend the CDA’s, and the authority to do CDA’s will expire August 31.

TURF says, “Taxpayers want Perry’s controversial and virtually universally detested road privatization schemes to die a natural death August 31 as scheduled, which will also KILL the mechanism to build the Trans-Texas Corridor.”

Why did Perry try for CDA’s in the special session?

Texas Monthly’s Paul Burka says, “The governor’s fight for more toll roads and more Comprehensive Development Agreements makes no sense politically. It puts the spotlight directly on his most controversial policy.”

Since renewing the CDA’s was in trouble from the beginning in the Legislature, why did Perry include CDA’s as part of the call for the special session? What was in it for him to put CDA’s up to the legislators, only to be swatted down? Was it to show his major construction contributors that he was doing his best for them, and he couldn’t help it if the recalcitrant legislators wouldn’t go along?

Is Krusee STILL TALKING?

The Statesman’s Ben Wear says, “For supporters of such contracts, which were touted earlier this decade as a way to bring in large upfront payments to TxDOT from private companies, the issue is not so much the next two years. Rather, if the existing authority in state law expires, reviving it may be politically impossible.”

He quotes our erstwhile representative Mike Krusee: "It means the potential loss of billions of dollars for road construction." It was Krusee’s legislation in the 2003 session that made the CDA’s legal, among other things,that started off the entire Trans-Texas Corridor fiasco, causing so many people to spend so much time and energy trying to save rural Texas from being paved over. Thanks, Mike! Can you stop talking now that the Corridor funding method is dead?

Overriding late Gov. veto fails--Gov. VETOES ban on toll advertising

2009-06-25T10:19:00.005-05:00

Constitutional amendment to let the legislature return to override a Governor's veto fails

One of the things that didn’t make it through this last session was a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the legislature to come back after the regular session to override gubernatorial vetoes of bills that had been passed by both houses. As it is now, if a bill is passed toward the end of the session, time runs out before the legislature can try to override the governor’s veto, even if the votes are there to override.

The override amendment was introduced in both the House and the Senate. HJR 29 by Representative Elkins was voted out of the House State Affairs Committee, but didn’t pass the House. SJR 14 by Sen. Wentworth was voted out of the Senate State Affairs Committee, but was not allowed to be considered by the full Senate by Lt. Gov. Dewhurst. There is an informative explanation of this in the Statesman:

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/region/legislature/stories/2009/06/24/0624veto.html

Governor vetoes the ban on promoting toll roads

A prime example of why we need the constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to come back to override a veto is the fate of HB 2142.

During the last few years, TxDOT spent millions in taxpayer money for advertising and lobbying to actively promote toll roads, including the Trans-Texas Corridor. The TURF organization sued TxDOT to stop this practice. While the lawsuit was pending, Representative McClendon introduced HB 2142 this session, which would have banned the use of our money in this way.

HB 2142 easily passed both houses and was on its way to protect us from having our own money used against us, when Gov. 39% vetoed it. As Sen. Kirk Watson said, “This shows so much chutzpah that I still can’t believe it, the Governor vetoed a bill prohibiting TxDOT from actively advertising their toll roads. The bill passed unanimously at nearly every step (it passed 132-1 on the House floor). And all it says is TxDOT can’t spend taxpayer money influencing public opinion about toll roads.”

TURF’s Terri Hall said that a judge had been on the verge of dismissing TURF’s lawsuit against TxDOT because it looked like HB 2142 had put this protection of taxpayer funds into statute. However, with Perry’s veto, TURF’s lawsuit now may have a better chance of proceeding.

Perry's vetoes show need for veto override

Perry’s veto of eminent domain protection in the 2007 session, and now his veto of the ban on using our money to promote toll roads, including the Corridor, are both reasons why legislators should be able to come back to consider overriding vetoes of bills that are overwhelmingly desired by the people and their representatives.

More between-session news--eminent domain; Perry signs non-existent document

2009-06-16T22:12:00.006-05:00

As the end of the session approached, there were two pieces of eminent domain legislation that had a chance of getting through—SB 18 and HJR 14.

SB 18 WITH SEVERAL EMINENT DOMAIN PROTECTIONS DIED

SB 18 was the bill desired by organizations like the Texas Farm Bureau. It called for more transparency in the condemnation process, compensation for diminished access, and the right for the owner to buy back property at its selling price if it was not used for the stated purpose within a certain time period.

SB 18 passed the Senate, passed out of committee to the full House, and was caught in the last-minute logjam caused by the delaying tactics on the House floor to avoid bringing up the voter ID bill.

HJR 14 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO PROHIBIT PRIVATE-TO-PRIVATE PROPERTY TAKINGS WILL BE ON THE BALLOT

Even though SB 18 died, HJR 14 calling for a constitutional amendment passed the House and the Senate and will appear on the November ballot. If approved by voters, it would prevent in Texas the situation that happened in the Kelo case, where the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the process of taking property from one private owner and giving it to another private owner. HJR limits the taking of private property to a public taking.

GROUPS CALL FOR EMINENT DOMAIN TO BE IN SPECIAL SESSION

Some, including Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers, and the Texas Farm Bureau, are calling for stronger eminent domain protections to be addressed in a special session. Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke said, “We have to guard against the possibility that some may declare the job done on eminent domain reform. If there is a special session, we hope Governor Perry will add it to the call. If there is not, this has to be a top priority for the next regular session.”

PERRY ALAMO SIGNING A SHAM

There have been several news accounts of Gov. 39% signing the authorization in front of the Alamo for HJR 14 to be on the ballot this November. The only account I saw that explains that the whole ceremony was a sham is from Ken Herman in the Statesman.
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/06/06/16/0616herman_edit.html

“Who amongst us does not enjoy political theater? . . . The only thing better than political theater is the subcategory of political theater/fiction. This would be when a politician performs in a little show that is fully make-believe. . . .

“A real trouper, Gov. Rick Perry showed up at the Alamo, right arm in sling from a recent bike wreck, and used his left hand to sign House Joint Resolution 14, a proposed constitutional amendment concerning eminent domain. . . .

“Beautiful. Perfect. Inspiring. And as phony as they come.

“Here's why: Texas governors have nothing to do with proposed constitutional amendments. When a proposed amendment gets the necessary two-thirds vote in each chamber — as HJR 14 did this year — it goes to the secretary of state, who puts it on the statewide ballot. Unlike proposed laws, proposed constitutional amendments are not routed through the governor's office.

“No vetoes allowed. No signature required. No signing ceremony needed. . . . It's all about re-establishing Perry as a private property-rights kind of guy, a credential he covets as he heads toward a 2010 renomination battle against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. . . .

“Exactly two years ago Monday, Perry invited questions about his dedication to private property rights by vetoing a bill dealing with the concept of ‘diminished access.’ . . . the veto did not sit well with some, including the Texas Farm Bureau, holder of a potentially pivotal endorsement in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary.

“The 2007 veto came on the heels of Perry's ill-fated Trans-Texas Corridor highway project, one that also attracted the ire of folks who fear government taking of private property.

“Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, stood with Perry on Monday. After the ‘signing’ ceremony, the 21-year legislative veteran could not immediately recall previously attending a ceremony where a governor signed something a governor has no business signing.”

Since there is no provision for such a signing, I wonder what Perry actually signed. Did his office make up an official-looking document that would be a fake with no significance? Then what happened to the signed fake document? Maybe it will become a collector’s item.

Between regular and special sessions--recap of TTC and TxDOT bills

2009-06-12T16:39:00.005-05:00

Now that we are between the end of the regular session of the Legislature and the beginning of a special session that Gov. Perry may call for later this summer, this is a good time to recap what happened to the main bills related to the Corridor and the TxDOT Sunset process (HB 300).

The last day of the regular session, the House acted to keep some state agencies, including TxDOT, in business by including them in legislation related to stimulus funding. This action would have caused TxDOT reorganization to be brought up in the 2011 session. However, the evening of the last session day, the Senate did not act on the House solution, thus leaving the future of TxDOT officially up in the air. Technically, if nothing further is done, TxDOT could begin a one-year process of shutting down on September 1 and go out of existence in September 2010.

Practically speaking, no one expects this to happen. Perry has said he will call a special session, although he has not said when or what issues would be included. Some expect that keeping the agencies going will be the bare minimum that will be in the special session.

BILL TO KILL THE CORRIDOR LEFT IN COMMITTEE

HB 11 by Leibowitz (D-San Antonio) would have repealed TxDOT’s “authority for the establishment and operation of the Trans-Texas Corridor.” HB 11 received a hearing in the House Transportation Committee, but was left pending in committee. During the House debate on HB 300—the omnibus TxDOT Sunset bill—Leibowitz succeeded in adding repealing the TTC to HB 300. Unfortunately, with the death of HB 300, repealing TTC also died for the regular session.

TxDOT SUNSET BILL DIED AS TIME RAN OUT

HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset bill was voted out of the House and the Senate in two different forms. The House/Senate conference committee that was supposed to reconcile the two versions could not come up with a final bill that was readily acceptable by the membership of both houses, and HB 300 died when time ran out in the session.

Isett (R-Lubbock) authored HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset bill, and was the manager of it as it went through the House. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports: “Isett said that since Perry said he will call a special session, he hopes the lawmakers finish the entire legislative package left on the table when the clock ran out. . . . ‘My preference is that we give that agency legislative direction,’ Isett said. . . . I still believe that it is an agency that needs to be updated and reformed at many different levels.’”

REPLACING TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION FAILS

HB 565, by McClendon (D-San Antonio) attempted to abolish the Texas Transportation Commission and replace it with an elected state Transportation Commissioner. This bill was left pending in the House Transportation Committee.

While the House was debating TxDOT Sunset, some representatives tried again for some sort of elected Transportation Commission, and the final language called for an elected state-wide Commissioner plus 14 commission members elected from districts around the state. The Senate’s version kept the five governor-appointed commissioners, but reduced terms from six to two years and mandated commissioners leaving when their terms are up.

With the death of the TxDOT Sunset bill, efforts to change the Transportation Commission are stalled for now.

BILL TO PROHIBIT TxDOT FROM PROMOTING TOLL ROADS, INCLUDING TTC, PASSES BOTH HOUSES—SENT TO GOVERNOR

Another bill from McClendon was HB 2142, which prohibits TxDOT from spending our taxpayer money to actively promote toll roads, including the Corridor. TxDOT spent millions on their Keep Texas Moving campaign, which used advertising and lobbying to advocate the building of the Corridor and other toll roads. Terri Hall’s TURF organization sued TxDOT, saying that Keep Texas Moving was an improper use of taxpayer funds. The suit is still pending. In the meantime, McClendon’s bill puts an end to this type of campaign statutorily. It does not forbid putting out neutral informational material. HB 2142 passed both houses and has been sent to the Governor.

Ag Commish calls for eminent domain in special session

2009-06-04T12:53:00.004-05:00

Many of you might have already seen the column from Ag Commissioner Todd Staples in today’s Statesman. In case you haven’t . . .

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/editorial/stories/06/04/0604staples_edit.html

SB 18, the bill to provide more protection from eminent domain, the bill that was strongly supported by the Texas Farm Bureau, passed the Senate, although it was held up in the Senate far longer that it should have been. It reached the House so late that it was caught up in the end-of-session slow-down effort in the House, so never passed.

HJR 14 did pass both houses and will be on the November ballot as a constitutional amendment saying that condemnation proceedings must be for a public purpose.

Staples’ column asks that eminent domain protection be one of the subjects in a special session. He says: “The passage of HJR 14, a constitutional amendment that will be sent to the voters in November, provides much needed protection to ensure that, in the unfortunate instance that government must exercise condemnation powers, that it is for a clear public use and purpose.”

“Painfully absent from our laws in Texas . . . are fundamental protections to the owners of private property. A series of loopholes in the law and court decisions have eroded our rights. . . . [SB 18] would have established stricter penalties for not negotiating in good faith; demanded adequate compensation for loss of access; and clarified that eminent domain must only be exercised for public use. We know there are several matters that were casualties of the regular session that need to be tackled — eminent domain reform is without a question or doubt one of these essential topics.”

TxDOT Sunset dead; TxDOT lives until 2011; what about the Trans-Texas Corridor?

2009-06-01T21:50:00.005-05:00

After the last several months of the TxDOT Sunset process and the 2009 session, it looks like both the good reforms and the bad additions have NOT made it through. Lots of time and energy expended for nothing, as far as TxDOT reforms go. TxDOT Sunset crept “in this petty pace . . . a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

TxDOT NOT SAVED BY ‘SAFETY NET’

Not only did TxDOT Sunset not pass, but also TxDOT was not even saved by the usual method of placing TxDOT survival in the “safety net” legislation.

As reported by the Statesman political blog, the House added keeping TxDOT open “to a bill authorizing state agencies to receive federal stimulus dollars. Agencies have to be open in order to get stimulus dollars . . . So the House corrected the stimulus bills to say that the departments at risk [including TxDOT] would stay open.”
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2009/06/01/house_votes_to_keep_txdot_aliv.html

SUNSET REVIEW IN 2011

One interesting aspect of doing it this way is that if TxDOT had been continued by the usual “safety net” process, it would have been up for Sunset review in 2013. Now, the TxDOT Sunset Review will happen again in the 2011 session. See the explanation on the Star-Telegram political blog.
http://startelegram.typepad.com/politex/2009/06/after-some-debate-house-members-make-vote-to-bypass-special-session.html

CAN THE HOUSE REALLY DO THIS?

The Statesman political blog reports that the Senate may not agree that the House action is allowable.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2009/06/01/problem_with_the_house_res.html
“Word is there could be a problem with the House wording: It may not allow TxDOT to issue the $2 billion in bonds it needs to continue road-building projects. Big problem that would be. And a bigger one: The House adjourned sine die about 20 minutes ago. So they’ve left the Capitol for good, at least in this legislative session. No way to fix any mistake now.”

NO FILIBUSTER

Of course, since HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset Bill, died in the House, there was no need for Sen. Carona to filibuster it in the Senate. The Dallas Morning News political blog says, “A smiling Sen. John Carona said Monday he didn’t have to bring his tennis shoes to the Senate floor on Monday after his filibuster threat . . . was made moot by the House decision . . . to let the proposal die.”
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/

SPECIAL SESSION?

The Senate has just adjourned “without approving a key measure to keep five agencies in business—including TxDOT,” according to the Statesman political blog.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2009/06/01/senate_adjourns_calls_out_hous.html
“Senate leaders said they expect Perry will call the Legislature back into session to deal with the new crisis. . . . Short of a special legislative session the agencies will begin shutting down in coming months.”

WHAT ABOUT THE TRANS-TEXAS CORRIDOR?

Unfortunately, since HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset Bill, is dead, the language that repealed the Trans-Texas Corridor is also dead. At the beginning the session, Rep. Leibowitz of San Antonio filed HB 11 that specifically repealed TxDOT’s authority to create the TTC which was left pending in committee. However, the language was added to HB 300, where it has died.

Fortunately, the Comprehensive Development Agreements/Public Private Partnerships may also have died. These CDA/PPP were the building blocks of the TTC “vision.” The TTC would have been built by private corporations like Cintra of Spain, who would have been working under comprehensive development agreements. These CDA/PPP’s were added to HB 300, thus allowing segments of the TTC to be built in this way, even if the name TTC was removed.

Without the passage of HB 300, these CDA/PPP’s are due to expire in September. So the language repealing the TTC did not pass. However, the foundational building blocks of the TTC, CDA/PPP’s, also did not pass, and this method of highway construction will expire.

All in all, at this point, we have made further progress against the TTC during this session.

HB 300 TxDOT Sunset Bill--filibustered?

2009-05-30T21:15:00.005-05:00

Patricia Kilday Hart reports on the burkablog

http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=4012

that Sen. Carona is considering filibustering HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset Bill, because earlier today the House-Senate conference committee stripped out of it Carona's local option transportation tax. Hart says the final committee report "was not shown to Transportation Chair Carona or Vice-Chair Kirk Watson, but signed and filed by Senate conferees Glenn Hegar, Chuy Hinojosa and Robert Nichols." How does this happen? Did the rest of the committee just wait until the chair and vice-chair of the Senate Transportation & Homeland Security Committee were both out of the room at the same time, sign the thing real quick, and then take off at a run to file it? I'm having trouble picturing this.

In addition to Hegar, Hinojosa, and Nichols signing for the Senate, Linda Harper-Brown, Joe Pickett (Chair of the House Transportation Committee), Wayne Smith, and Carl Isett (author of HB 300), signed for the House. The only House conferee not to sign was Ruth Jones McClendon.

Previously, Carona has said he will not accept the TxDOT Sunset Bill if it does not contain his local option plan. From this point, the signed bill without his local option plan will be printed and distributed to the Senate and the House to be voted on by all members. It is not clear how soon the 1,000-plus-page bill call be printed and distributed, so it is uncertain when the votes in both houses will occur. It has to be before the session ends on Monday, June 1. Is it feasible for a Carona filibuster to prevent a Senate vote and thus kill HB 300? If this happens, TxDOT will have to be continued for two years by the "safety net" bill and its Sunset process taken up by the next session

SB 18 eminent domain protection is dead

2009-05-30T12:03:00.005-05:00

While we are breathlessly awaiting word from the HB 300 TxDOT Sunset conference committee, let's use this time to consider some instructive insights from Martha Estes about another bill that we had high hopes for this session--SB 18, more protection from eminent domain.

See the most recent ACRE post on this issue:

http://acretexas.blogspot.com/2009/05/has-time-run-out-for-eminent-domain.html

For other ACRE eminent domain posts, click on the "eminent domain" tag at the bottom of that post.

Re SB 18, Martha laments:

"IT IS DEAD: About the EMINENT DOMAIN bill & SB 18 by Estes.. IT IS DEAD

". . . the Eminent Domain BILL was used as a 'bargaining position' to exact support for other bills. SO... holding it up in the Senate State Affairs Cmte. & Senate was necessary to maintain the upper hand in the backroom deals.

"RULE: What you FIRST see is OFTEN NOT what you get.. it is likely disguised or likely to undergo transformational surgery through amendments or committee substitutes & often BOTH.

"STRATEGY: Sending bills through CERTAIN committees guarantees their outcome & controls their "speed". Obvious Example: Rep. Mike Krusee as Chair of the Transportation Cmte. until this session.

"TEASER: The Eminent Domain bill was hyped statewide MORE than any OTHER transportation related bill (to 'please or appease the masses') with the Local Option having a big, COSTLY public relations roll-out (HillCo lobby firm) at first & then growing quiet (but working feverishly behind the scenes) when there was some loud opposition.. as WE well know.

"KEYHOLE MOMENT on a resolution of interest to the masses: The revelations in the Dallas paper related to the VETO OVERRIDE resolution HJR 29 is a good example of what you DON'T ordinarily SEE behind the scenes."

[See the end of ACRE post
http://acretexas.blogspot.com/2009/05/has-time-run-out-for-eminent-domain.html
which discusses HJR 29 and Wentworth's unusual candor.]

Martha concludes, "Senator WENTWORTH's candor WILL cost him dearly in his next Republican primary. I'll take any bets on it.. and I am NOT a gambler."

TxDOT Sunset HB 300--down to the wire

2009-05-30T11:10:00.003-05:00

According to leaders in the lege, if conferees don't reach agreement on HB 300, TxDOT Sunset, by about noon today, TxDOT will have to be continued under "safety net" legislation for the next two years, to be dealt with in the 2011 session. The latest from the Newspaper Tree doesn't sound like an agreement is immenent:

http://www.newspapertree.com/news/3881--tempers-fray-over-last-minute-play-to-keep-local-option-tax-in-txdot-sunset-bill

Sen. Carona still won't accept HB 300 in the Senate if it does not include the local transportation tax option. Both Pickett, House Transportation Chair, and Isett, author of HB 300, say the House will not go with HB 300 if it does include the local option.

We should know the outcome later today.

TxDOT Sunset HB 300--internal and external attacks

2009-05-29T08:51:00.005-05:00

House and Senate conference committee members are now negotiating to see if the two different versions of the TxDOT Sunset bill can be reconciled. Given some issues that it seems that they will never agree on, will this HB 300 collapse from its own weight? A good explanation in the Star-Telegram:

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1402048.html

The House has declared that it will never accept the local option transportation tax plan desired mainly by the DFW area, and the Senate has declared that it will not accept HB 300 without this plan.

The Star-Telegram reports a possible compromise: "Senate negotiators are offering to reduce two proposed fees on motorists and delay countywide elections by two years in a proposed compromise to keep a local transportation funding plan alive . . ."

While negotiations go on behind closed doors, there will be a very public rally and press conference: "Several hundred business and community leaders from Arlington, Burleson and other area cities planned to descend on the state Capitol today to show support for the local-option transportation provision, regarded as crucial to resolving worsening traffic congestion in North Texas."

In addition to the local option tax plan, the other major point of disagreement is red-light cameras. The House has placed a phase-out of the cameras in its version, but it is not in the Senate's.

Senate Transportation & Homeland Security Chair John Carona says that "local-option provisions are not negotiable." House Transportation Chair Joe Pickett says, according to the Star-Telegram, that he is "concerned that a provision widely opposed by the House membership could endanger the entire bill."

TURF, Liberty Matters, Texans Against Tolls, Independent Texans, and others are working to kill HB 300. They argue that the current version does not contain the desirable changes developed during the Sunset process and does contain most of the undesirable provisions that could not stand on their own and have been added under the table at the last minute. It could be that their efforts, plus the inability of the House and Senate to agree, will accomplish what seemed unlikely until recently--the death of HB 300, resulting in a TxDOT Sunset re-do, to be tackled in the 2011 session.

Kill HB 300 and start over

2009-05-28T17:00:00.003-05:00

Analysis of the current HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset Bill, by Liberty Matters, TURF, Texans Against Tolls, Independent Texans, and others leads to the conclusion that the many amendments added to the original HB 300 by the House and the Senate have destroyed the original Sunset provisions that were carefully developed by the Sunset Commission staff and legislators that made up the original HB 300. These organizations are asking citizens to call their representatives and ask them to kill HB 300, pass "safety net" legislation that will allow TxDOT to continue for the next two years, and then prepare to do a new, clean TxDOT Sunset Bill in 2011.

Here are TURF's directions for contacting your Representative.

Contact your Texas STATE representatives and tell them:"KILL HB 300, and pass a safety net bill."

Find your STATE Representative here...Call the Capitol switchboard (512) 463-4630 between 8 AM - 5 PM. Most are there late into the evening, to get your reps direct phone numbers, go here...

You can also email your STATE Representative by using this formula: Plug in the name of your STATE Representative to: firstname.lastname@house.state.tx.us

You can also email your STATE Senator by using this formula: Plug in the name of your STATE Senator to: firstname.lastname@senate.state.tx.us

Phone calls are best at this stage of the game...if you can't get through, keep calling and email.

Has time run out for eminent domain protection and veto override?

2009-05-27T09:52:00.004-05:00

Last night, time may have run out on two important bills.
First, the Statesman’s Jason Embry reports on eminent domain legislation. SB 18 was passed by the Senate and was before the House when it shut down at midnight with many bills left on the calendar.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/firstreading/entries/2009/05/27/can_this_session_be_saved.html

Embry says, “Many thought the chubbing might ease up enough Tuesday for some big non-voter ID bills to pass, such as the bill authorizing the state to get federal stimulus dollars for unemployment insurance and the eminent-domain legislation. But Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, had other ideas, launching his own talk-a-thon that ate up most of the day . . .

“So there are six days left in the session and some major Senate bills are (at best) in serious jeopardy because they did not pass the House: . . . eminent domain . . . If any of this is going to be salvaged, there is going to have to be major triage in the Senate . . . "

Let’s hope some “major triage” can save SB 18--stronger protection against eminent domain for landowners.

The second good bill in danger is HJR 29 that would allow the Legislature to come back after the regular session to override a governor’s veto. As reported by Christy Hoppe, Dallas Morning News, Sen. Jeff Wentworth says that Gov. Perry and Lt. Gov. Dewhurst “are conspiring to kill” this constitutional amendment.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/legislature/stories/DN-vetofight_27tex.ART.State.Edition1.511dd6a.html

From Hoppe’s article: “Sen. Jeff Wentworth, speaking with unusual candor against powerhouses in the Capitol, said Dewhurst betrayed a trust as the Senate's presiding officer to deal fairly and address bills that have the support of two-thirds of the 31-member Senate. Wentworth, R-San Antonio, said he had collected the signatures of 26 Senate supporters for the constitutional proposal, but Dewhurst told him that at the behest of the governor, he would not call up the bill for debate."

Wentworth said, "[Dewhurst] made a deal with the governor and gave his word he'd kill the bill. He told me that the governor has talked to him 20 times about it." The veto override passed the House easily and has been sitting in the Senate since May 15—more than enough time for it to be debated and passed by the 26 Senators that have signed up for it.

To allow Texans to vote on this amendment is overwhelmingly favored by their representatives in the House and the Senate. It is being killed by Perry and Dewhurst. What does this tell us about the need for this amendment?

Senate has passed TxDOT Sunset Bill--what might happen next?

2009-05-26T16:41:00.003-05:00

The Statesman's Ben Wear discusses where TxDOT Sunset stands now and its possible future.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2009/05/26/txdot_sunset_now_what.html

HB 300 started out in the House as a huge bill and it has grown. Wear says:

"The thing had gotten so big by the time it reached the Senate floor that staffers printed it in an unusual single-spaced, legal-size paper format just to keep the height of the stack down. . . . The rough estimate is that in normal format HB 300 was a 700-page bill at least when it hit the Senate floor."

There are important differences between the House and Senate versions, and Wear discusses what might happen now and the timing:

"First, the 15 or so Senate amendments have to be incorporated and it has to be printed. This alone could take 24 hours. But we’re told that in the meantime, or perhaps after this is done, the bill would then go back to the House for concurrence.

"[S]tep two, the House declines to concur and appoints its five conference committee members. The two leaders of this almost surely will be Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, the bill sponsor, and Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, the House Transportation Committee chairman. . . . [The Senate] will then appoint its own conference committee members. The leaders there will be Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, the Senate sponsor, and Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee.

"Both the House and Senate must vote for final bills emerging from conference committees by midnight Sunday, the session’s penultimate day. . . . Realistically, then, negotiations have to be done by sometime Friday."

Some sort of measure to keep TxDOT going, rather than Sunset it, must be passed. It sounds like it will be difficult to go through all these steps in time to complete all the reorganization contained in HB 300. If the House and Senate can't get this bill out in time, or if they complete their work, but Perry vetoes it, I assume there will be some mechanism to keep TxDOT going the way it is for two more years and start the whole Sunset process over again for the 2011 session. If this is the case, untold hours of work by the Sunset staff, legislators, and citizens giving input will have been for naught, at least at this point.

HB 300--TxDOT Sunset Bill--what if it doesn't pass?

2009-05-25T08:47:00.004-05:00

A very clear explanation by Michael Lindenberger of the Dallas Morning News about where the TxDOT Sunset Bill started out in the House, how it was changed and weakened in the Senate, and where it stands now.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-transportation_25ttex.ART.State.Edition2.517f53a.html

He concludes that it is even possible that the House and Senate are at an impass on this HB 300 and that it will not pass. If it does not pass, being a Sunset Bill, it could mean that TxDOT would cease to exist. Since that is not something that legislators would allow, they might pass something that would kick the can on down the road--continue TxDOT for only two years and try for reorganization again in two years.

I would hate for HB 300 to go down the drain, since it does now contain language that repeals the Trans-Texas Corridor. However, this could be taken out before final passage, if any, so everything is up in the air.

Thanks to Roger Baker for sending this around.

Yes to SB 18 for more protection against eminent domain

2009-05-22T16:53:00.003-05:00

SB 18, the eminent domain bill by Estes is now on the House’s Major State Calendar. It was expected that it would go before the House today, but because the House has been clogged up for most of the day with delaying actions, this bill has not been acted on yet.

SB 18 has been changed somewhat since it was introduced. Some are saying that it has been fatally weakened, but others believe that it still gives property owners more rights than we have currently, including compensation for “diminished access” without using that exact phrase and providing for more transparency in the condemnation process.

The Texas Farm Bureau has been working on behalf of more protection against eminent domain throughout this session, and the Bureau is still strongly in favor of SB 18. To find your representative to ask him or her to vote for SB 18 go to

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

TURF alert about SB 17 and SB 404

2009-05-22T14:17:00.002-05:00

See many more details below about SB 17 and SB 404 enabling the Trans-Texas Corridor even though legislators have tried to repeal it through an amendment in the TxDOT Sunset Bill. This letter from TURF's Terri Hall is a guest post on Eye on Williamson County.

http://eyeonwilliamson.org/?p=4854

Oppose SB 17 and SB 404

2009-05-22T14:09:00.003-05:00

Liberty Matters, TURF, and Indy Texans have sent messages asking us to contact our representatives to vote against SB 17 and SB 404. Taken together, SB 17 by Nichols and SB 404 by Carona would enable Comprehensive Development Agreements/Public Private Partnerships and allow some of the Trans-Texas Corridor and other toll roads to be constructed, even though the TxDOT Sunset Bill still contains the amendment to repeal the TTC.

Right now, the House is bogged down with other matters, and as far as I can tell, has not gotten to these bills. Please contact your representative and ask him or her to vote against SB 17 and SB 404.

Rep. Maldonado issues report on legislative session

2009-05-19T18:27:00.004-05:00

As the session draws to a close, our HD 52 Representative Diana Maldonado has issued a legislative round-up.

She said, "I am proud to have moved several key pieces of legislation through the House that will benefit District 52." She passed a bill to fund the Eastern Williamson County Higher Education Center in Taylor. She also passed legislation to help schools get electronic materials returned by students.

Rep. Maldonado passed a bill to allow Taylor and Hutto to use money from their hotel-motel tax revenues to fund recreational facilities, including the Eastern Williamson County Park in Taylor. She also succeeded in passing a "green" bill, that would require TxDOT to use recycled glass in new road projects. She said, "This will help reduce the amount of glass that goes into our landfills, and provide contractors with an environmentally friendly alternative."

She coauthored several bills to benefit especially her rural constituents. She was a coauthor on HB 11 to repeal the Trans-Texas Corridor. It was left pending in committee, but a similar measure made it into the TxDOT Sunset Bill, which passed the House and is before the Senate.

She also coauthored HB 13, which would have prevented free land to toll lane conversions, which was left pending. She was a coauthor on HB 1483 which provided greater protection from eminent domain. HB 1483 was left pending, but a similar Senate bill is still under consideration

Rep. Maldonado has achieved a large body of work this session, especially for a freshman legislator. She said, "I greatly appreciate all of the input and suggestions that have come in from thousands of constituents during this session. Your correspondence keeps me informed on your views and helps me to make decisions each day."

To see more information about legislation or to contact her office, go to her House website at
http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist52/maldonado.php

Gov. 39% not the brightest bulb . . uh, the brightest political future

2009-05-17T15:39:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, the National Journal asked their group of Republican insiders "Who among your party's current crop of governors has the brightest political future?"

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/ip_20090516_8934.php

Winning with 21 % was Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, followed by:

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour 20 percent
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty 17 percent
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist 13 percent
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford 8 percent
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. 6 percent

National Journal noted, "Also receiving votes: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 5 percent each; no one, 2 percent; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and "Pawlenty and Sanford," 1 percent each.

Rick Perry received no mention whatsoever.

Perry has been busy with more important things

. . . like having his spokesman criticize Kay Bailey Hutchison's bumper sticker contest. As reported by the Houston Chronicle

http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2009/05/no_detail_too_s.html

"You might think the winners of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's bumper sticker contest would be of little interest to Gov. Rick Perry's camp as the legislative session enters its final days with major issues still up in the air.
You'd be wrong on that."

Mark Miner, a Perry spokesman, found fault with the contest and the winners. He is quoted as saying, "They should apologize to the three other people who may have participated in this questionable contest."

For the Hutchison campaign, Hans Klinger asked: "Why is Rick Perry's taxpayer funded mouthpiece more concerned about bumper sticker contests than he is the work of the legislature?"

It seems to me that people on the Governor's staff should be working on the business of the people of Texas, not officially commenting on Hutchison's contest that was solely a function of her campaign and that did not make any mention of Perry whatsoever that might have necessitated a response from his office.

Meanwhile, the Governor was busy writing his op-ed

First, I'll never believe that Rick Perry actually writes anything. Let us say that one or several ghostwriters came up with the piece that is in today's Statesman:

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/editorial/stories/insight/05/17/0517perry_edit.html

I think it's interesting that this explanation appears so long after the fact. Does he write very slowly? As a work by committee, did it take this long for it to go through several drafts and approvals?

Given Perry's attempt since the creation of the Trans-Texas Corridor in 2003 to disempower the rural landowners of Texas, he has a nerve talking about the powers reserved to the people.

He criticizes the federal government for "passing trillion-dollar bailouts [think $183.5 billion for the TTC, according to Corridor Watch], bullying states [think bullying of Texans by Perry's TxDOT], and even taking control of private companies [think taking the land of Texans FOR Cintra, a private company].

Then he praises "the concept of limited government," and he claims that "citizens and taxpayers should be outraged" by what the federal government is doing.

Do you think that he still doesn't know what we are outraged about? It is Perry and his friends, the big government/large private corporation partnerships that are working against the landowning citizens of Texas, the small businesses, the farm and ranch families, the people who are the backbone of the state. Perry has tried to institute a corporative state where large private concerns are able to take over and use the power of government to oppress the individual and take his private property.

With his op-ed, Perry is not going to win over the voters who know his true colors, and he's lost some of the folks who thought he WAS speaking favorably about secession and agreed with him. Now, as far as they're concerned, he's "gone wobbly" on the issue. As Peter Stern comments, "Confucius once stated, 'Beware of the man who blows hot and cold with one breath.' He must have been speaking with Gov. Rick Perry in mind."

Legislative update--some Corridor and Rail bills

2009-05-15T18:10:00.004-05:00

The deadline for the House to pass House bills was reached at midnight last night. If a representative’s legislation was not passed by then, it is dead, unless the representative can attach it, or pieces of it, to appropriate Senate legislation.

An update on some bills we have been following:

HJR 29 by Elkins proposes a constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to override a veto of the governor following a legislative session, thus making sure that the governor can’t solely override the will of the people and their legislators after a session—too late for the veto to be overridden, no matter how many votes it might have--which is what happened to eminent domain legislation in the 2007 session. HJR easily passed the House and is on the calendar for a second vote by the Senate on Monday, May 18. Hope this amendment passes and is put on the ballot for us to vote on.

SB 1923 by Watson would use certain fees to put money into the Texas Rail Relocation Fund. Since many of the officials and lobbyists who want to fund rail relocation want to expand the rail line through Coupland or build a new big route through the Coupland area, I hope this bill does not pass the Senate. It is on the Senate calendar for second reading.

HB 2142 by McClendon would prohibit TxDOT from using taxpayer money to promote the Trans-Texas Corridor and other toll roads. You may remember the annoying multi-million- dollar Keep Texas Moving advertising campaign. TxDOT also used our money for lobbying for toll roads. This campaign resulted in TxDOT being sued by TURF—case still pending. HB 2142, which forbids such campaigns, has passed the House and heads to the Senate, where the same legislation (by Sen. Carona) has already passed. Looks promising for this good legislation.

HB 300, the large TxDOT Sunset Bill that passed the House WITH an amendment repealing the Trans-Texas Corridor has gone to the Senate, where it is scheduled for a public hearing on May 18, in Transportation & Homeland Security Committee. Pundits are saying that the final form of HB 300 will be determined by the upcoming House and Senate conference committee.

Thanks to Martha Estes for helping us follow what is going on at the Capitol.

Contact your senator to support HJR 14

2009-05-14T16:19:00.002-05:00

The Institute for Justice is the public interest law firm that represented Suzette Kelo in her fight to keep her home that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court Kelo decision IN FAVOR OF TAKING PRIVATE PROPERTY from individuals and giving it to others for economic development purposes. They are asking that we contact our senator to support HJR 14--the constitutional amendment to put better protection against eminent domain abuse into the Texas constitution.

HJR 14 has passed the House. If the Senate passes it with a two-thirds majority, it will appear on the November ballot so that we can vote FOR more protection of private property. Now is the time to contact your senator to support of HJR 14. For many of us, our senator is:
Steve Ogden
steve.ogden@senate.state.tx.us

If he is not your senator, please click on the link in the message below to find your senator.

From: the Institute for Justice

On Monday, the House unanimously passed H.J.R. 14, a constitutional amendment that would end eminent domain abuse in Texas. If the Senate passes H.J.R. 14 by a two-thirds vote, it will appear on the November ballot, and you - the voters of Texas - will be able to vote for better property rights protections. Now, more than ever, it is critical that you make your voice heard and support H.J.R. 14. Call your Texas Senator and tell them you support H.J.R. 14 TODAY. You can find their contact information here: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

Forward this link to all of your friends and family: http://www.NoMoreKelosInTexas.com. Encourage them to take a few minutes today to call their Texas Senator.The Senate will vote soon. Please call immediately. This is it. It's been four years since the Kelo decision. The future of property rights in Texas rests in the hands of the Texas State Senate. We have to let them know how important stopping eminent domain for private gain is to Texans.

Thank you for continuing to stand on the frontlines of the battle against eminent domain abuse. Christina Walsh
www.ij.org www.castlecoalition.org
Institute for Justice TEXAS CHAPTER
816 CONGRESS AVE, SUITE 960 AUSTIN, TX 78701 (512) 480-5936 FAX (512) 480-5937

Burka asks: What does killing the Trans-Texas Corridor mean?--ACRE answers

2009-05-10T23:08:00.006-05:00

Paul Burka has posted and received comments about HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset Bill.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=3792

I commented that one of the things that should be kept in HB 300 is killing the Trans-Texas Corridor. Burka asked what did people mean by killing the TTC. Below is my reply to his question:

I would say that killing the Trans-Texas Corridor is what is intended by HB 11 by Rep. Leibowitz, which is the “repeal of authority for the establishment and operation of the Trans-Texas Corridor.” I don’t know if this is the language of the amendment that was added to HB 300. It is my understanding that the amendment to HB 300 would be something like HB 11. The purpose would be to take away the authority to create and operate the TTC that was given to TxDOT by HB 3588 in 2003.

As long as this authority to create an entity with the name of TTC is still in statute and still in other official documents such as the Environmental Impact Statement (which is still stuck at the Federal Highway Administration), there is the danger that the project will be resurrected.

The project itself is as described in the document “Crossroads of the Americas” which lays out the design of the TTC as a multi-modal, almost quarter-mile wide swath of routes in a network that criss-crosses Texas—ten vehicular lanes, six rail lines, pipelines, and utility zone, with all concessions within the TTC boundaries—that would sweep through the state, bypassing cities, thus depriving them of trade as well as tax base, because of all the acreage taken out of the local taxing districts.

As it unfolded, it was intended that the TTC be a public-private partnership, giving Cintra (a Spanish corporation) the right to profit from land taken from Texas landowners through eminent domain by the state and turned over to Cintra.

For years, our family and our neighbors have been fighting the TTC. Considering all our efforts added to the efforts of other grass-roots groups along the Corridor routes, there is no telling how many hours, days, years of time and energy we have had to take away from other endeavors to spend in the effort to save our land. These efforts required our time and money, while the people who have been trying to take our land away from us have been well-paid with our own tax money.

Over the years, those of us working against the TTC have had gradual and hard-won success. Not that it was totally due to anti-Corridor efforts, but one instance that I would like to point out is that it was “our Representative” Mike Krusee who authored HB 3588 to create the TTC. Now, our current Representative Diana Maldonado is a coauthor of HB 11 that would abolish the Corridor.

We have made progress, and the TTC name has been disavowed, but the TTC is not dead. So many Texans have spent so many hours fighting the Corridor—hours that could have been put to more productive use—it would be great if this burden could be lifted from the shoulders of rural Texans once and for all, either by HB 11 being voted out of committee and being passed by the Legislature or by keeping language totally repealing the authority for the TTC in HB 300 as it is passed by the Legislature.

Kill the TTC is in HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset Bill

2009-05-09T23:36:00.002-05:00

The very big, very complicated TxDOT Sunset Bill, HB 300, seems to be passing the House with 160-180 amendments--with amendments to amendments--so it has been hard to find news about what did and did not make it into this bill. Also, there will need to be a third reading of the bill and one more vote before it goes from the House to the Senate.

Many, many thanks to Terri Hall and the folks at TURF who have the only reporting on the repeal of the Trans-Texas Corridor that I have been able to find. To see TURF commentary on many aspects of HB 300, go to the TURF news at
http://texasturf.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=664&Itemid=2

Regarding the main issue that we have been following at ACRE—fighting the Trans-Texas Corridor—an amendment repealing the TTC has been added to this version of HB 300.

At least two other provisions that we have been supporting also are in HB 300 at this point: prohibition on tolling existing roads (don’t know yet how this affects tolling 290 East) and elected leadership at TxDOT (a single statewide elected commissioner as head plus 14 regional elected commissioners).

TURF says, “A huge hats off to the leadership of Rep. David Leibowitz of San Antonio and Rep. Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham for leading the charge to get these MAJOR amendments into HB 300. Texans owe them a HUGE debt of gratitude.”

TURF is warning of a provision that allows public-private partnerships (such as Cintra’s with the TTC) to continue: “WE MUST STRIP OUT Phillips’ private toll contract provision that sells our highways to the highest bidder UPON THIRD READING OF THE HOUSE BILL, HB 300, Monday!”

For more details on all these provisions, good and bad, click on the link above.

To keep in our good amendments and to strip out the private toll contracts, TURF asks:

“CALL NOW. Repeat this message:
1) No private toll contracts that sell our highways to foreign corporations (strip Phillips’ sneaky amendment to extend these contracts that end the moratorium!)
2) YES to Leibowitz’ version of BAN on tolling existing roads (freeway to tollway conversions) (may save us from tolling 290 East)
3) NO Trans-Texas Corridor
4) YES to elected leadership at TxDOT
Find your legislator here:
http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/
Call the Capitol switchboard 512-463-4630 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. You can also email your legislator by using this formula:
Plug in the name of your state representative to: firstname.lastname@house.state.tx.us
Plug in the name of your state senator to: firstname.lastname@senate.state.tx.us
But at this stage of the game, PHONE CALLS ARE BETTER!”

You can pick and choose from the above issues to talk to your legislator's office about, but please ask him or her to keep the repeal of the Trans-Texas Corridor in HB 300!

Report on House debate of TxDOT Sunset Bill--live Thursday night

2009-05-07T22:29:00.003-05:00

Leibowitz amendment 57 to not allow conversions of free to toll lanes unless on MPO plan prior to September 2005.
Approved amendment to amendment 57 to allow Grayson Co. project that is started to continue.
House considering allowing members to register opposition to controversial amendments until 5 p.m. tomorrow. Don't know if repealing TTC is considered controversial.
Now they have gotten into red-light camera issue. Amendment to give TxDOT authority over these cameras. Amendment to the amendment proposed that sounds like weakening the red-light camera situation. Fussing breaks out. Amendment to amendment adopted. Menendez objects. Said cameras are in place as local control, shouldn't give state authority. As I understand it, the camera situation IS controversial in the Legislature right now, so this discussion could go on for some time.
Possibly tomorrow, there will be some news on the amendment to repeal TTC. Over and out for now.

House votes for single Transportation Commissioner--no news on killing TTC

2009-05-07T22:08:00.005-05:00

I watched as much as I could of the live stream coverage of the House debate today of the massive TxDOT Sunset bill hoping to see if Rep. Kolkhorst's amendment to repeal the Trans-Texas Corridor made it in. I didn't see that this was brought up yet, and I haven't been able to find any coverage of it.

I did find an AP report that the House did adopt an amendment that would change the five-member Texas Transportation Commission (the current one appointed by Gov. 39%) to one Transportation Commissioner who would be elected statewide like the Agriculture Commissioner.

Another proposal being considered is the addition of 14 regional commissioners that would address the concern that the different constituents and needs of different areas of the state be represented.

The Legislature Online site shows that the House is still in session (10:20 p.m.) debating HB 300. They have just allowed amendments to the amendment against concession agreements to allow projects in progress to go forward, the best I can tell.

I would appreciate any news on killing the Corridor, if anybody has any.

TURF Alert! Call now to add TTC repeal to TxDOT Sunset Bill

2009-05-06T23:00:00.003-05:00

HB 11, the bill to kill the Corridor is stuck--left pending in committee. It is possible that it can be added as an amendment to the giant HB 300 TxDOT Sunset bill that goes to the House tomorrow. Below is TURF's call to action to try to get some good provisions added to HB 300, including the repeal of TTC. Please see TURF's explanation of where things stand now and call your representative:

HOUSE VOTE IS IMMINENT! HELP US REPEAL THE TRANS TEXAS CORRIDOR - FIX LOOPHOLES THAT ALLOW FREEWAY TO TOLLWAY CONVERSIONS!

This is it! Thursday, May 7, the House takes up the TxDOT Sunset bill, HB 300. It's a 200 page bill already and House members will try to attach every good and bad transportation bill that's been stalled in committee to the Sunset bill. This will be the ONLY major transportation bill to pass this session. Some VERY BAD provisions are already in HB 300 and we MUST strip them out, including a provision that opens a new loophole to allow them to TOLL EXISTING HIGHWAYS like 281, 1604, 290, 59, and many more.

We have a total of 11 amendments we're working on, including the BIGGIES: a bullet-proof prohibition on tolling existing roads, a REPEAL of the TRANS TEXAS CORRIDOR, and a provision to demand ELECTED leadership at TxDOT.

So here's the call to action....MEGA URGENT, SUPER IMPORTANT 30 SECOND ACTION ALERT

We need every man and woman in the state, all your friends, all your neighbors, all your co-workers to contact their State Representatives and start melting down the phones and say:
Fix HB 300:
1) STOP the loopholes & FINALLY prohibit tolling existing FREEways/roads
2) REPEAL the TRANS TEXAS CORRIDOR
3) Give us ELECTED leadership at TxDOT
4) Support the TURF amendments
Find your State Representative for the Texas House here...

Carona's SB 1570 high-speed rail authority goes to full Senate

2009-04-30T18:09:00.004-05:00

Sen. Carona's SB 1570 "relating to the facilitation, analysis, and implementation of high-speed passenger rail" in Texas has just been reported favorably as substituted, meaning the full Senate will vote on it. See our previous coverage at

http://acretexas.blogspot.com/2009/04/caronas-sb-1570-promotes-texas-t-bone.html

We reported the problems with the T-Bone plan being pushed by the South Central High-Speed Rail Transportation Corporation, the Obama Federal plan, and the conflicts between them.