- Congressman Kevin Brady is encouraging legislators to seek an A.G. Opinion on high speed rail in Texas
- What’s the issue that has Brady up in arms? Eminent Domain. Specifically state granted eminent domain powers.
- Who recevived the letter from Congressman Brady?
- Charles Schwertner
- Trent Ashby
- John Otto
- Leighton Schubert
- What is Congressman Brady’s concern? Whether the rail works for local communities, and he does not believe a rural train route works for local communities
- its…
Category Archives: local government
INTERIM 6 Points from Austin Mayor Adler on Ride Share
Austin Mayor Adler has a piece in Trib Talk about ride share entitled, Innovation is the way forward for Austin and Uber/Lyft.
His main points:
- an election is costly, and that money could be spent on other projects
- forcing a hand on ordinances isn’t the Austin way
- he wants to keep Uber and Lyft in Austin
- he supports independent, third-party, cross-platform, virtual badges or validators that we call the Austin Thumbs Up! badge via
- Austin Thumbs Up! would utilize 3rd parties to…
6 Points from Sen. Konnie Burton Op Ed on TEX Rail
- 27 miles of rail has an enormous price tag of $998.78 million
- local officials are aggressively pushing it & have not secured funding
- “our community” hasn’t signaled a “desire” for mass transit, even Travis County voted before they approved rail & we haven’t
- local officials are entering into a deal with the” irrational and fiscally irresponsible federal government”
- it won’t have an impact on traffic congestion based on the environmental impact study
- rail projects attract high earners…
State Guts Mass Transportation Funding. 3 Bits of Informed Intel.
What state is gutting its mass transit budget? Colorado is moving a bill that would remove mass transit funding
What impact would this have on local government mass transit projects?
- There would be no state grants to local transit agencies
- Transportation officials also say it means “lost funding opportunities for organizations that provide transportation services for the elderly and people with disabilities”
Which party is pushing this? Republican
INTERIM. Think Tank Grades Ride Share, Limo & Taxi Regs/Laws in 50 Cities. Mixed bag for TX.
What group is doing the transportation company analysis? R Street , it has an Austin “office” too
Did they grade by state or city? By City
How did the Texas cities do?
- On Transportation Network Company Friendliness
- Austin A
- Dallas B
- El Paso B
- Ft. Worth B
- Houston D+
- San Antonio C
- On Taxi Friendliness
- Austin C
- Dallas A
- El Paso D
- Ft. Worth …
Calling Japan to Stop High Speed Rail. 3 Quick Points to Be Informed.
Texas elected officials are reaching out to Japan? Indeed, 33 East TX Officials, opponents to high speed rail, have contacted the Ambassador to Japan
Who signed the letter? Local Officials, like county judges, county commissioners and members of sub-regional planning commissions, and legislators
- 11 Republican members of the Legislature: Sens. Brian Birdwell of Granbury, Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham and Charles Schwertner of Georgetown, and Reps. Trent Ashby of Lufkin, Cecil Bell of…
One County Racks up $358M In Unpaid Tolls
Which Texas County has $358M in unpaid tolls? Harris
How much does $358M in unpaid tolls equal in toll lane miles? About the same as the cost of 15 miles of the Grand Avenue Parkway
How do these unpaid tolls break down by driver numbers?
- 84,673 vehicle owe more than $1,000
- 27 drivers who owe more than $20,000 each
- One person owes $46,000
AG OPINION: When voters Approve Trains; Can there be buses?
Which AG Opinion is this? Its the response to Senator Nichol’s question about Houston Metro’s participation in Uptown MMD/TIRZ transportation project
What’s the answer from the AG? We don’t know. it’s a fact question for a court and not a question about the law that the AG can answer.
INTERIM Lege Trend: Ride Share moves to Initiative and Referendum In Texas
Why are we seeing Initiative and Referndum in Texas for Ride Share? Finger print requirements for ride share drivers sparked a move toward the traditional California mechanism of intitiative and referendum
What group is pushing this? Ridesharing Works for Austin, supported by TechNet
Statesman | Uber, Lyft support ballot initiative on Austin’s ride-hailing rules
New Transportation Reinvestment Zone in South Texas. 3 Points to Know.
- New county-wide transportation reinvestment zone approved unanymously in Cameron County
- Can raise $1.6 billion for future transportation projects over the next 50 years
- Allows Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority to pledge its funding for transportation bonds
Valley Morning Star | Economic development: Court approves new transportation reinvestment zone