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Carona out, Williams in
By Terri Hall
Houston Examiner
August 8, 2010
Speculation is swirling as to what prompted Texas State Senator John Carona to dump his chairmanship of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee and land as the new chair of the Business and Commerce Committee. Lt. Governor David Dewhurst promptly installed Senator Tommy Williams as the new Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and there are already complaints that he's too close to Governor Perry and won't oppose Perry's controversial toll road agenda...at least not in the way Carona did.
First of all, Carona criticized Governor Rick Perry's penchant for selling off Texas highways to private corporations in deals called Comprehensive Development Agreements (also known as Public Private Partnerships or PPPs), insisting they were the most expensive way to fund roads (at 75 cents a MILE in tolls, he's absolutely right about that). He also pointed out it's a myth that Texans won't have to take the toll roads when nearly all new lanes and new roads in Texas are going to be tolled. He rightly declared it will be near impossible NOT to pay this new toll tax.
Carona was also a vocal advocate for a statewide gas tax increase, and when the Governor dug in his heels to starve the gas tax in order to push the most expensive option, toll roads, especially PPPs that hand our public infrastructure to Perry's cronies in half century sweetheart deals, Carona tried a local option gas tax decided by voters instead. Both have failed to get any traction. Though there are a host of reasons NOT to support ANY tax increases for transportation (for reasons we'll address in a moment), the obvious alternative to a massive network of toll roads is to address the gas tax which hasn't been raised since 1991. Some argue, well, I have to pay a gas tax increase, but I can avoid paying a toll. However, that's not the case. The way these new-fangled toll deals under Perry et al are structured, we ALL pay for the toll roads, and then have to pay AGAIN every time we use it. Even worse, there are many toll projects that slap toll taxes on existing roads we've already built and paid for, like parts of 290 and Hwy 281. Few of these projects are toll viable and self-sustaining (paid for by just those who use the toll road).
In fact, according to testimony in a joint hearing February 2, 2010, all the remaining toll projects on the books are NOT toll viable and ALL need taxpayer subsidies paid for by you and I (which equals hundreds of toll projects). Take the stimulus money as an example. TxDOT proposed that 70% of it go to toll roads. Prop 14 money is also being used to prop-up losing toll projects. Ditto for gas taxes and other sources of public funds that have become available since the push to toll roads began. All could be used to build FREEways, but Perry and our politicians continue to choose to borrow and spend us into an unsustainable system of debt-ridden toll roads that too few can afford to use which will eventually require massive bailouts (either on the front end, the back end or both) by ALL of us.
When the cost goes from 1-2 cents a mile under a gas tax road system to 25-75 cents a mile for toll roads, the most affordable option is gas tax, hands down. A 10 cent gas tax increase would cost about $100 a year on average (based on 20 MPG and driving 20,000 miles a year) versus $2,000-$3,000 a year on average to take just ONE toll road on a regular basis. Given the fact that these deals also have non-compete agreements that either penalize or prohibit the expansion of free roads surrounding toll roads, toll roads GUARANTEE congestion on free lanes, which means if you ever hope to get out of congestion, you're going to have to pay this new toll tax. Most every major metro area (and some not so metro areas) in the state has virtually EVERY road project slated to be tolled. As we've been told for years now, there is no money for "free" roads anymore. Politicians have abused our gas taxes and continue to raid what's left of them to build toll roads, double taxing Texans.
How to fund roads WITHOUT raising taxes
First, anyone who understands economics knows a tax increase during an economic downturn only serves to hurt economic growth and recovery. So now is NOT the time to be talking about a gas tax increase. Second, when the Legislature and Congress have habitually raided the gas tax and spend upwards of 40% of it on things other than roads, no taxpayer in his/her right mind would go for a gas tax increase that will only get further abused. Lawmakers MUST end gas tax diversions if they want to proceed with any discussions of increases in transportation funding.
Third, TxDOT is an agency in total chaos, has been run so inefficiently, and has so severely mismanaged taxpayer resources, nothing short of a total house cleaning is necessary to restore the public trust, and end the duplication of duties and other inefficiencies that waste taxpayer money. Next, lawmakers must commit to STOP all borrowing for roads, particularly loser toll projects. This includes borrowing money and building toll projects that can't pay for themselves. The interest on the borrowed money is unsustainable and buries the next generation in debt that will hamper our ability to meet future transportation needs. House Transportation Committee Chair Joe Pickett pointed out at an event in June that taxpayers are paying $21 billion in interest to borrow just the first $6 billion in state debt for roads (not counting local debt and other off-budget debt incurred).
Lastly, lawmakers MUST prioritize transportation. In 1980, transportation was 15% of the state budget, today it sits at less than 5%. Aside from the gas tax diversions, there are other transportation revenue sources like the vehicle sales tax that taxpayers already pay that go to fund general government rather than funding roads. The vehicle sales tax brings in $3 billion a year (on average). Compare that to a 10 cent gas tax hike that would reap less than $1 billion per year, and you start to see how simply prioritizing the taxes we already pay will go a long way to fixing our road woes WITHOUT having to raise taxes (either gas tax or toll taxes).
Politics, not shortage of cash, hampering road fix
With all this jockeying around in transportation circles, one thing is certain, politics, not leadership, rules the day, especially considering Perry's political appointee, Jay Kimbrough, was chosen to head the supposed "reform" of TxDOT.
Senator Williams has made some bold statements that both challenged TxDOT and Perry on occasion. In 2007, he carried the moratorium bill, HB 1892 and SB 792, that put a hold on the sale of Texas roads to private, mostly foreign, entities. He's called TxDOT liars and warned of too many toll roads and too much debt that could cause a transportation system deemed "too big to fail" and in need of massive bailouts down the road. In contrast, he also allowed the Governor to severely compromise the moratorium bill and add market valuation (which translates into charging the highest possible toll rates the "market will bear" and Robin Hood tolling), and he supported installing license plate cameras on ALL Texas highways (big daddy government) as a giveaway to the traffic camera industry as well as supporting certain pass through finance agreements that make local taxpayers incur debt for STATE highways. So like Carona, he's a mixed bag.
However, how he chooses to move forward and whether or not he'll advocate for sensible, affordable transportation and call for a prioritization of transportation funding within the existing budget (a plus is he sits on Senate Finance Committee, that writes and controls the state budget), remains to be seen.
On the federal level, there has been no appreciable change in policy from the Bush Administration to the Obama Administration in regards to tolling and selling our highways to private entities in sweetheart monopolies. While Bush wanted to sell our public roads to his cronies and create "Lexus lanes" for the wealthy that relegate those who can't afford tolls to second class citizens on congested free lanes, Obama wants to continue to raid gas taxes to fund mass transit and likes tolls as a way to tax people out of their cars and into transit.
No matter how you slice it, politics, not a lack of funding has kept our roads from getting fixed and expanded. One thing is certain, we cannot go another budget cycle without properly funding our state and federal highway system. Thankfully, we the PEOPLE can have great influence on "politics." So let's get to it and demand that in the next state legislative session and in the next federal highway bill, lawmakers prioritize transportation without raising taxes.