02.05.08

Joint Hearing On TxDOT - UPDATED

Posted in Around The State, Commentary, Privatization, Road Issues at 1:01 pm by wcnews

Sal’s liveblogging the hearing, it appears that Sen. Watson and Sen. Zaffirini are getting TxDOT to admit some pretty disturbing stuff.

9:59 am An angry Sen. Watson is shaming Saenz over the tax dollars TxDOT promised CAMPO for the Kirk Watson’s freeway toll roads.

10:05 am Saenz uses the excuse that he’s “new to the job”, as Watons says “so it’s an issue of competence?”.

10:15 amA female committee member (I can’t see her name) says TxDOT claimed via the press statewide, to have a short fall, when they don’t have one, only to push toll roads on the public and the Ledge. She demands TxDOT hands over talking points used (for the press) during this hearing.

With former TxDOT head Ric Williamson no longer around to obfuscate it appears we may be getting to the heart of the issue. Fear, and lies to sell toll roads, how would have thunk it?

What little of the hearing I’ve heard it seems what TxDOT has been doing is not asking for the right amount of money in the budget for quite some time. If all these costs have been rising shouldn’t TxDOT have been asking for more money for a while now? In other words the “surplus” the state now has may not have only been created by taking money away from children’s health care but also because we haven’t been funding our transportation infrastructure properly for many years. In turn if Texans would have seen that transportation was bankrupting their state government maybe they would be more open to other forms of funding roads. Like raising and indexing the gas tax or maybe even tolls. Trying to hide a problem for nefarious/personal reasons never works. Maybe that’s what today’s hearing will show.

[UPDATE]: I think Sen. Watson just got it. It’s about tolling/privatizing every new highway. Welcome aboard Senator!!

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