{"id":709,"date":"2017-02-25T19:49:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-25T19:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/2017\/02\/25\/update-the-other-side-of-the-coin-18-bills-9-bills-companions-high-speed-de-railment\/"},"modified":"2017-02-25T19:49:00","modified_gmt":"2017-02-25T19:49:00","slug":"update-the-other-side-of-the-coin-18-bills-9-bills-companions-high-speed-de-railment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/update-the-other-side-of-the-coin-18-bills-9-bills-companions-high-speed-de-railment\/","title":{"rendered":"Update. The Other Side of the Coin&#8212;-      18 Bills = 9 Bills + Companions. High Speed De-Railment."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights from Texas Central Rail repsonse to the high speed rail bill package:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8221;\u00a0a slate of discriminatory bills&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>it is the &#8220;use the power of the state government to single out and kill a free market project&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>10,000 jobs are represented by high speed rail project<\/li>\n<li>Billions of dollars will be invested in the Texas economy<\/li>\n<li>Collaborating with landowners\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;a majority of Texans have been clamoring for&#8221; this project<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/wtaw.com\/2017\/02\/24\/texas-central-partners-reaction-state-legislation-regarding-high-speed-passenger-trains\/\">WTAW Brazos Valley |\u00a0Texas Central Partners Reaction To State Legislation Regarding High Speed Passenger Trains<\/a><\/p>\n<p>informed:intel on February 21, 2017:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which members joined forces to file bills to impede high speed rail?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Senators Birdwell,\u00a0Creighton,\u00a0\u00a0Kolkhorst, Perry, &amp; Schwertner<\/li>\n<li>Representatives Ashby, Bell, Cook, Schubert, and Wray\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The hot issues in the press release announcement:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>big bad evil #1 : foreign investments (remember Trans Texas Corridor &amp;\u00a0Cintra, anyone?)<\/li>\n<li>big bad evil #2: it will hurt family farms and private property rights<\/li>\n<li>big bad evil #3: this is going to be expensive, more expensive than they are saying<\/li>\n<li>big bad evil #4: security concerns raised by a 9\/11 survivor\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Which bills are in this package. Its 9 bills + companions?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB973\">SB 973<\/a>\u00a0by Creighton\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2168\">HB 2168<\/a>\u00a0by Bell (Railroad Determination Before Surveys) &#8211; prohibits a high-speed rail entity from entering private property to conduct a survey unless the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) first determines that the surveying entity is, in fact, a railroad.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB974\">SB 974<\/a>\u00a0by Creighton\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2181\">HB 2181<\/a>\u00a0by Cook (Option Contract Protection) &#8211; voids any high-speed rail option contracts held by a high-speed rail entity upon a bankruptcy initiated by or against the entity.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB975\">SB 975<\/a>\u00a0by Birdwell\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2169\">HB 2169<\/a>\u00a0by Schubert (Security Requirements) &#8211; provides a framework of minimum security requirements to be followed during the construction and operation of a private high-speed rail line. Requires the high-speed rail authority to coordinate security efforts with state and local law enforcement, as well as disaster response agencies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB977\">SB 977<\/a>\u00a0by Schwertner\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2172\">HB 2172<\/a>\u00a0by Ashby (No Taxpayer Bailout) &#8211; prohibits the legislature from appropriating new funds, or allowing state agencies to utilize existing funds, to pay any costs related to a the construction, maintenance, or operation of a private high-speed rail in Texas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB978\">SB 978<\/a>\u00a0by Schwertner\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2104\">HB 2104<\/a>\u00a0Bell (Property Restoration Bond) &#8211; requires a private high-speed rail entity to file a bond with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sufficient to restore property used for the rail service to the property&#8217;s original conditions if the service ceases operation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB979\">SB 979<\/a>\u00a0by Schwertner\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2179\">HB 2179<\/a>\u00a0by Cook (Right of Repurchase for Non-HSR Use) &#8211; prohibits an entity that operates or plans to operate a high-speed rail from using property acquired for purposes other than high-speed rail. If the high-speed rail authority doesn&#8217;t use the property for that specific purpose, the original landowner must be given opportunity to repurchase the land.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB980\">SB 980<\/a>\u00a0by Schwertner\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2167\">HB 2167<\/a>\u00a0by Schubert (Put Texas First) &#8211; prohibits any state money from being used for any purpose related to a privately owned high-speed rail, unless the state acquires and maintains a lien in order to secure the repayment of state funds. Requires that the state&#8217;s lien be superior to all other liens, effectively making Texas a priority creditor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB981\">SB 981<\/a>\u00a0by Kolkhorst\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2162\">HB 2162<\/a>\u00a0by Wray (Interoperability) &#8211; requires an entity constructing a high-speed rail line in Texas to demonstrate compatibility with more than one type of train technology.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=SB982\">SB 982<\/a>\u00a0by Perry\/<a href=\"http:\/\/www.capitol.state.tx.us\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&amp;Bill=HB2173\">HB 2173<\/a>\u00a0by Ashby (High-Speed Rail Feasibility Study) &#8211; upon request of a legislator, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) must generate a feasibility study of a proposed high-speed rail project. The study must indicate whether the project is for a public use, whether it will be financially viable, and what impact of the project will have on local communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.house.state.tx.us\/news\/press-releases\/?id=6125\">Press Release |\u00a0Lawmakers Take Action to Derail Bullet Train between Dallas and Houston<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chron.com\/news\/houston-texas\/texas\/article\/Lawmakers-rain-down-anti-rail-bills-10948520.php\">Houston Chronicle |\u00a0Texas lawmakers move to stymie high-speed rail project<\/a><br \/>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.khou.com\/news\/local\/texas-lawmakers-lobby-to-derail-proposed-high-speed-train\/411899887\">KHOU |\u00a0Texas lawmakers lobby to derail proposed high-speed train<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.star-telegram.com\/opinion\/editorials\/article134374844.html\">Ft. Worth Star Telegram |\u00a0Bill package shapes fight on high-speed rail<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights from Texas Central Rail repsonse to the high speed rail bill package:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8221;\u00a0a slate of discriminatory bills&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>it is the &#8220;use the power of the state government to single out and kill a free market project&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>10,000 jobs are represented by high speed rail project<\/li>\n<li>Billions of dollars will be invested in the Texas economy<\/li>\n<li>Collaborating with landowners\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;a majority of Texans have been clamoring for&#8221; this project<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/wtaw.com\/2017\/02\/24\/texas-central-partners-reaction-state-legislation-regarding-high-speed-passenger-trains\/\">WTAW Brazos Valley |\u00a0Texas Central Partners Reaction To State Legislation\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,35,3,10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2017-issue","category-2017-legislation","category-eminent-domain","category-legislative-trend","category-railways","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/informedintel.com\/account\/transportation\/wp-transportation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}