Category Archives: legislative trend

A.G. Opinion. The Key Intel Wanted on Texas Central Rail.

The Requestor: Chairman Byron Cook initiated RQ- 0113-KP about Texas Central Rail

The Questions asked of the Attorney General:Do the parties have eminent domain authority to condemn property for Texas High Speed Rail?

The Facts and Statutes key to whether Texas Central Rail has eminent domain power:

  • surveyors have been requesting pre-condemnation access to land to survey for the purpose ofplanning, building, maintaining and operating an electric rail road.
  • pre-condemnation access can…

INTERIM. TREND. Ride Share Leaves a City. What happens?

Small Ride Share companies step in to fill the void. Here’s what happened in Austin:

  • 6 small ride share companies started operating
  • 1 nonprofit ride share is emerging
  • Business trends emerge to distinguish small ride share from large ride share by:
    • allowing preferred drivers to be selected
    • allowing for pre scheduled rides
    • company pledges to not surge price rides

 

Governing | When Uber Leaves, What Happens?

Funding Space Travel in Texas. Texas Losing to Florida. The Key intel:

Space X wants the Texas Spaceport Trust Fund funded. Here’s what you need to know:

  • 2015 Legislature put $0 into the Texas Spaceport Trust Fund
  • Florida funds its space fund at the rate of $20 million per year
  • Florida funds are used for public-private partnerships
  • SpaceX has 500 employees in Central & South Texas
  • SpaceX invested $70 million at the MacGregor facility
  • Space X partners with  250 Texas vendors

RioGrande Guardian | SPACEX CALLS ON LEGISLATORS TO SUPPORT TEXAS SPACEPORT…

Traffic Cameras. For the good of safety? For the good of revenue? 3 Pieces of Intel.

The Wall Street Journal analyzed traffic camera data from Maryland, where speed cameras are used in addition to other traffic camera enforcement:

  • Slower Traffic Speeds. A reduction in speed in work zones occurred
  • No Deterrence. No reduction in the number of speeders or repeat speeders
  • Safety Improved. Work-zone deaths fell by 38%

Wall Street Journal | Traffic Cameras: Safety Tools or Cash Grabs?

1 Key Element Missing from Self Driving Car Laws

Data Security is the 1 key element missing from the 7 states that have passed self driving car laws.

Cars can be hacked. Cars contain data. The data your car’s computers contain can be used for:

  • direct & targeted marketing
  • cam be accessed by hackers

California is addressing vehicle data via regulation by requiring:

  • notice and consent
  • before information can be collected from operators
  • this excludes information that is needed to operate the vehicle

The Guardian | Self-driving cars:…

Campaign TREND. 5 trending transportation funding methods.

The Colorado U.S. Senate race features candidates touting new transportation funding mechanisms like:

  • Cut agency costs to spend more money on road construction
  • the federal government should not fund construction on state roads
  • the feds should fund road maintenance of federal roads and return the remainder of gas tax revenues to the states
  • switch to a vehicle miles traveled taxing system
  • expand energy production to public lands and use the tax revenue for transportation

Denver Business…

INTERIM. Ride Share Bill Debate Gets Mean Fast in the West. 3 Pieces of Informed Intel.

California Assembly debate over a ride share bill that would allow companies to check criminal backgrounds of drivers in state criminal background check systems turned nasty.

The 5 reasons why debate took a mean turn:

  • Legislators say the author promised to provide liability immunity for companies that did not use the state criminal background check
  • The author said he never made a promise to limit liability for companies
  • The nasty debate, resulting in admonishments from leadership, caused…

Self Driving Cars. Honking. 3 Pieces of Intel about Self-Honking Cars.

Google is programming self driving cars with the ability to honk. Here’s what you need to know when Texas considers self-driving car bills again in 2017:

  • Google is pre-programming 2 honks:
    • a friendly “quiet two pips” to alert other drivers
    • af ull-on “loud sustained honk” for emergent situations
  • the human driver offers feedback to allow the honk or not
  • the honking system identifies false positives like cars making 3 point turns

Trusted Reviews | Google has taught its…

Republican State Chooses Road Bonds. Gives Governor More Power.

HOW: South Carolina legislature chose bond funding for transportation by:

  • Allocating $216 million in recurring funding for $2.3 billion in bonds over 10 years
  • Freeing up state funds to repair roads, interstates, and bridges

WHY did South Carolina opt for bonding?

  • 399 deficient bridges
  • The Governor is granted more power to appoint trasnportation commissioners, removing power from the joint legislative panel that selects commissioners
  • The legislature had the backing of the state’s…