Category Archives: roads

HB 565: No Eminent Domain for Private Toll Corporations

In 2014, a private tollroad corporation proposed new toll roads in North Texas. Town halls were held. Fire Marshals shut them down as too many people turned out against new toll roads. City  councils in the proposed toll areas passed resolutions opposing the plans to use eminent domain. 

Toll road opponents and private property rights supporters united.  

The 2015 Legislature will consider HB 565, which  will stop private toll authorities from exercising eminent domain. 

Leach: 3 Transportation Funding Solutions & Bill to be Filed

Leach’s transportation funding solutions:

  • “Stopping diversions from the State Mobility Fund
  • Dedicating some of the motor vehicle sales tax to the State Highway Fund (SHF) and
  • Dedicating a larger percentage of the general revenue to the state’s transportation fund.” Community Impact for Collin County 

Leach’s soon to be filed transportation …

Collin County & City Leaders: Toll Lanes Are Our Current Solution to Transportation Funding

Explosive growth in North Texas has meant more strain on limited transportation funding.  

Collin County transportation funding solutions are:

  •  Toll HOV lanes or new lanes on existing roadways
  • Local residents oppose it, but it’s the only way to get additional funding until more state transportation funding happens

Collin County Officials Point to the Followign Transportation Funding Problems:

  • “state budget dedicated to road funding h…

Republican Iowa Governor: Yes to Transportation Funding from the Gas Tax

Iowa also has a transportation funding crisis. Governor Brandstad is looking for a bipartisan solution.  

To get to the revenue levels Iowa needs, the following proposals fit the bill:

Nichols & Metcalf Support Vehicle Sales Tax Dedication to TXDOT

Take aways from a Conroe forum featuring Senator Nichols and Representative-Elect Metcalf:

  • $3.5Billion can be added to road funding by dedicating vehcile sales tax to TXDOT
  • Cut unnecessary spending 
  • To offset the hit to general revenue from dedicating the vehicle sales tax, Metcalf is quoted as saying “Our plan is to add 10 percent of the funds to the road funds over a 10-year span.”

[ Posted byadminPosted in2015 legislation, funding, roads

Abbott Supports $4Billion in Transportation Funding

On Monday, Governor- elect Abbott announced staff and legisltive plans, including adding $4Billion to the transportation coffers. He hopes to accomplisht his by:

  • Dedicating sales taxes collected on vehicle sales to road construction and maintenance.
  • Resulting in  more than $2 billion a year added to the  highway fund.
  • Ensuring more of the gasoline taxes go to roads, without touching the gasoline taxes that fund DPS. [ Posted byadminPosted in2015 legislation, funding, roads

Gas Tax Legislation Tour, Maine Edition

Raising the gas tax. Indexing the gas tax. Multiple states are wrangling with it. 

Highlights from Maine:

  • Gov. LePage says he’ll veto any bill raising the gas tax
  • Gas tax (federal and state) makes of 3/4 of  funding for transportation (including bridges)
  • Maine’s gas tax is 30cents
  • Maine use to index the gas tax, but stopped, proponents say indexing helped Maine keep up with transportation funding needs.  [ Posted byadminPosted infunding, legislative trend, roads

Shale Roads: Lower Speed Limits. More Funding.

Roads in oil and gas producing areas of the state are receiving 2 new safety benefits:

  • By emergency rule TXDOT lowered the speed limits on dangerous roads in oil and gas producing areas of the state by as much as 12 mph.  
    • The process to lower speed limits can be lengthy and crash data shows higher accident rates on these heavily traveled roads. 
  • 15-20 % of the $1.7 Billion from 2014’s Prop.1 funding will go to the roads in oil and gas producing …