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We have one last try today
They voted FOR HB 2795 yesterday.
Tell them 'No' to extending foreign-owned toll contract road malpractice
Action Item #1 -
We need to STOP this BAD bill on the House floor today!
Contact your State Rep. NOW at (512) 463-4630 and
Ask your State Rep. to vote 'No'
on HB 2795 on 3rd reading!
on HB 2795 on 3rd reading!
For those who may not know, each bill has to pass twice on a floor vote. Yesterday's vote was called 2nd reading, and today it's 3rd reading.
So this is our LAST SHOT at killing this HORRIBLE foreign-owned toll road bill!
On 3rd Reading Thursday, April 27
HB 2795 (Canales)-The people of Texas (both parties) vehemently oppose CDAs, and extending this foreign-owned toll contract another 20 years. Why should we give this company the exclusive right to gouge Texas drivers for an additional 20 years (to the year 2062) on a road that’s already paid for (its debt was wiped out in bankruptcy court in 2017)?
TxDOT’s goal is to get a free (to them, not taxpayers) direct connector to SH 130 on I-35 built by the private entity. Who benefits the most from a direct connect ramp onto a private toll road? The foreign company making bank on drivers, exploiting the relentless congestion on I-35.
Want another 133-car pile-up?
These are the contracts that resulted in a 133-car pile-up on I-35W in Ft. Worth during the ice storm that killed 6 people! The NTSB Report found that foreign toll operator, Cintra, had ZERO training on how to properly de-ice the road for the severe weather. That's what happens when you put profits over PEOPLE!
Background:
Though taxpayers were promised they'd get SH 130 back free and clear of any debt if the private operator ever went bankrupt, the bankruptcy court wiped out the previous owner's (Cintra-Zachry) debt and brought in Strategic Value Partners (SVP). The court kept the CDA in place and allowed this new company to continue collecting tolls until 2042. SVP is yet another global company with offices in Connecticut, England, Germany and Japan, who take all of the money out of Texas.
Despite 160 pavement defects and 120 breaches of contract with the original developer, the legislature is being asked to continue this sort of road malpractice in Texas by awarding the new developer an additional 20 years with the high cost of private tolls (that’s nearly all profit since the debt was largely wiped out by the bankruptcy court). Private tolls can now cost drivers over $3/mile ($24/trip) in peak hours on the North Tarrant Express in Ft. Worth.
SOLUTION:
The solution here is to use some of TxDOT’s $15 billion windfall in new funds to pay-off the debt still owed on its portion of SH 130, buy back the private portion from the foreign company, and make it afreeway. That would immediately relieve significant traffic off I-35 through Austin.
Tell them to say 'No' to crony corporate welfare toll contracts.
This is definitely considered a vote for toll roads!
This is definitely considered a vote for toll roads!
TOLL BILLING REFORM BILL STUCK
Ask Committee to vote our toll billing reform out IMMEDIATELY
HB 2991 must pass today in order to have time to pass
Action Item #2 -
Our toll billing reform bill, HB 2991, is running out of time!
Contact House Committee members and ask them to vote HB 2991 out of committee TODAY in ONE CLICK here.
HELP US GET HB 2991
ACROSS THE FINISH LINE!
ACROSS THE FINISH LINE!
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