05.17.07

SB 792 Debate - Liveblogging

Posted in Privatization, 80th Legislature, Road Issues, Around The State at 3:32 pm by wcnews

Here we go. I’ll try and keep up with this for a while.

First Amendment by Rep. Lois Kolkhorst. A clarifying amendment to make sure everyone understands this is a moratorium on ALL CDA’s not “carved out”, aka exempted, in the bill. Looks like “carve(d) out” is today’s catch phrase.

Rep. Vicky Truitt is getting sassy about her “carve out”.

Kolkhorst is stressing that the TTC is definitely part of the moratorium.

[UPDATE]: Ben Wear has some pre-debate info including another amendment upcoming form Rep. Kolkhorst that could cause problems.

Under the bill, prospective toll projects would be subject to a market valuation by a third party. Her amendment would stipulate that the folks doing such evaluations could not also participate financially in the projects later. That could affect investment banks that have begun to become players in the private toll road industry, such as Goldman Sachs, and might have the financial acumen to be candidates for the market evaluation gigs.

[UPDATE]: The amendment was temporarily withdrawn.

[UPDATE]: Macias amendment for not secret contracts. No surprise, Rep. Mike Krusee (R - Pro Corporate Toller) against the amendment and open government. He’s a little testy and his voice is getting shrill. So early?

[UPDATE]: Traffic and Revenue (T&R) is the most important and closely guarded part of the deal Krusee says. You can read all about T&R and the issues with them here. This is where the numbers get jiggered and the corporations make there money and put the taxpayers on the hook when the traffic doesn’t come and the revenue falls short. Of course they want to keep this secret.

[UPDATE]: Motion to table coming. Rep. Truitt understands the people’s need to know but…but the interests of the corporation are much, much more important.

Motion to table…prevails..101 - 41.

[UPDATE]: Pickett..Pickett..Pickett..amendments adopted without record votes.

[UPDATE]: Rep. England amendment to except Highway 161 in Dallas County form the new market valuation in the Senate bill. Rep. Wayne Smith opposes amendment. 161 is already excluded from the moratorium, but not from the market valuation. The valuation will determine what the toll would be to make it “profitable”. Smith to table…England to close, 161 “looks like war torn Bosnia”…Rep. Davis brings up that 161 is a major artery to the Cowboys new stadium and the Rangers stadium. Motion to table…prevails..74 - 62.

[UPDATE]: Moving through some quick amendments.

[UPDATE]: Amendment to the previously withdrawn Kolkhorst amendment. Fixes Truitt’s issues. Now the original Kolkhorst amendment was adopted.

[UPDATE]: Another Kolkhorst amendment passed.

[UPDATE]: Here’s the Kolkhorst amendment that Ben Wear told us about. An investor or banker in the toll roads can’t be part of the market valuation. Passes without a record vote.

[UPDATE]: Kolkhorst on buybacks, to remove one word, the word “new” which was added in the Senate…Krusee and Coleman are for tabling the amendment. This is about whether on a buyback it’s has to be on the original valuation..motion to table…motion to table fails…65 - 79. I’ll give Kolkhorst credit. She said that when a bill comes back with one word added she gets suspicious.

[UPDATE]: Rep. Truitt to speak against tabling the amendment. Kolkhorst, Krusee, Smith, etc…huddled behind the front podium..

[UPDATE]: I must have missed something I thought the earlier amendment was to table.

[UPDATE]: This is getting a little tedious but I think what this amendment amounts to is that it could take away the guaranteed “profits” that were part of the original agreement, and if that’s taken out then no corporation would ever enter into an agreement without a guaranteed profit provision in it.

[UPDATE]: Amendment to amendment coming..and adopted…now Kolkhorst’s amendment now up…don’t want to buyback highways from huge, unmet, future projections. Kolkhorst amendment as amended passes.

[UPDATE]: I’ll be leaving soon and this bill will pass, I’m assuming, and go to conference committee. Another amendment passes.

[UPDATE]: Riddle amendment…Smith motion to table….prevails…110 - 26. I’m outta here.

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