- SB1190 (TX |1989 created the Texas High-Speed Rail Authority.
- SB1190 (TX |1989 gave the THSRA these powers:
- eminent domain
- 11 member panel
- charged to determine whether high-speed rail was in the public interest
- award a franchise to operate a high-speed rail service to the most qualified applicant
- HB 2390 (TX | 1995) abolished the THSRA
- A final report from Executive Director Marc H. Burns stresses the need for state involvement:
-
“The State should retain planning and oversight roles in all new transportation infrastructure, particularly where new right-of-way may be required,” Burns wrote in the report. “[High-speed rail] is a mass transportation project and the role and power of safeguarding the public must be reserved to the State. Only after we have articulated how the project may be accomplished without denigrating the lives of Texans can we seek a private partner to implement a plan designed to better Texas.”
-