Stop the TTC march and rally a success!

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thousands turnout for Trans Texas Corridor protest rally
 
Austin, TX – Saturday, April 5, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) hosted thousands of citizens for a march up Congress Avenue and the Don’t Mess with Texas TURF protest rally to stop the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) and tolls across Texas on the South Capitol steps. Front row center was a contingent from the City of Kendleton, whose Mayor Carolyn Jones spread misinformation telling constituents the “TTC-69 project was dead so you don’t need to go to that rally Saturday.” One of her constituents quipped that “she must think we didn’t learn to read or write. Well, we did and we’re not stupid. We couldn’t wait to get to this rally.”

A similar contingent from Walker County attended in protest of Senator Steve Ogden's (R - Bryan) comments stating the TTC-69 project was "dead" (though he modified his remarks to claim he said "dead in Walker County").  TxDOT's official statement in response said the project is "not dead," and they, in fact, just extended the public comment period for TTC-69. Some folks believed the rumors, which made constituents hopping mad. Saturday's rally couldn't come soon enough.

Texas farmers, ranchers, and ordinary citizens from all over Texas (East Texas, North Texas, Houston, San Antonio, and everywhere in between) as well as folks from out of state (as far away as Michigan) attended the rally.

Oklahoma Senator Randy Brogdon (R – Owasso) told participants the TTC is a threat to liberty and to our sovereignty. Brogdon mentioned a transportation bill he helped kill in the Oklahoma State Legislature that had the potential to erase our borders and destroy our country’s sovereignty, giving unfettered access to Mexican and Canadian truckers on U.S. interstate highways and would have erased Oklahoma’s 11th Amendment rights.
 
“Folks, it is plain to me that anything designed to tear down and eliminate our borders is a direct attack on the sovereignty of this Nation. And anyone involved with helping to destroy our Nation’s sovereignty is involved in a treasonous act and should be held accountable,” Brogdon proclaimed with conviction.
Brogdon’s also spoke of the needed u-turn in the TTC when it hits the Oklahoma border.
 
“Well, Governor Rick Perry is going to have to build the largest Texas turnaround ever built in the State of Texas, because the NAFTA Superhighway ain’t crossing the Red River into Oklahoma,” roared Brogdon to the enthusiastic crowd.

Texas State Representatives David Leibowitz (D- San Antonio) and Nathan Macias (R – Bulverde) both encouraged grassroots supporters to continue the fight to stop the TTC and tolls.

“Our congressional delegation was asleep at the switch when NAFTA was passed. They didn’t ensure Texas got enough funding for the increase in traffic due to NAFTA and now they’re asking us to pick-up the tab,” noted Leibowitz.

“Thank you for your commitment to the cause, and please don’t give up the fight,” emphasized Macias.

Macias noted the Republican Party platform from 2006 had a plank against the TTC and against tolls on existing corridors. He stated the platform is a document created by the grassroots. He recognized many legislators aren’t listening to the citizens, and he encouraged them to stay involved in order to return our State government to one that’s of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Mae Smith, Mayor of Holland and Chair of the first Sub-Regional Planning Commission putting a roadblock in the way of TTC-35 gave attendees the tool they can implement TODAY to stop the TTC. By forming a commission allowed by Local Government Code Chapter 391 in the Texas Statutes, it forces TxDOT to coordinate with local units of government before they can proceed with building the TTC.

The booklets explaining the 391 commissions compiled by two private property rights groups called American Land Foundation and Stewards of the Range went flying off the TURF table.

Other speakers touched on themes of loss of sovereignty, runaway taxation, eminent domain abuse, outsourcing of jobs, and the overall threat to the freedom to travel.

Participants also enjoyed some home-grown entertainment by The Texicans (singers/songwriters of Trans Texas Corridor Blues) and Jack Motley (featured in Truth Be Tolled.com movie).

Speeches and photos from the event will be posted shortly on the TURF web site.

Next year's rally will be on Saturday, February 28, 2009 on the South Capitol steps.

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View Photos of the Event


Speeches from some that attended the event, and letters from some who could not attend:
Letter - Marcy Kaptur (OH Congresswoman)
Letter - Virgil Goode (VA Congressman)
Letter - Ron Paul (TX Congressman)
Speech - Randy Brogdon (OK Senator)
Letter - Jimmy Hoffa Jr. (Teamsters)
Speech - Terri Hall (TURF Founder)
________________________________________________

Press coverage...

Link to article here.

TRANS-TEXAS CORRIDOR

Trans-Texas Corridor foes march on Capitol
Critics say proposed toll-rail-utility routing will usurp property rights and harm the environment.
By Patrick George
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, April 06, 2008

For Peyton Gilbert, the battle over the Trans-Texas Corridor is reminiscent of the moment in 1836 when Lt. Col. William Travis drew a line in the sand at the Alamo and invited those willing to fight thousands of Mexican soldiers to step across.

"That line in the sand is the Trans-Texas Corridor, and it's a threat to our sovereignty again, just like at the Alamo," said Gilbert, 14, who is from Whitehouse, near Tyler.

Gilbert was among a large crowd of people who marched down Congress Avenue to the Capitol on Saturday afternoon to demonstrate against the proposed highway-rail-utility corridor and the placement of toll roads on existing freeways. The corridor would go from the Texas-Mexico border to the Oklahoma state line and have special trucking lanes, rail lines and communications and utility cables.

Opponents say Gov. Rick Perry's plan for 4,000 miles of cross-state tollways will usurp private land, will use private companies to operate toll roads and could hurt the environment. The corridor is slated to be built by private contractors, primarily Spanish firm Cintra.

"In a nutshell, we are against it because of the devastation it's going to cause rural and urban landowners, the effect it will have on the middle class and the consequences it will have on our liberty," said Hank Gilbert of Texas TURF, or Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, the San Antonio-based group that organized Saturday's rally.

"TxDOT says these corridors are for trade out of Mexico and ultimately China, but it's Texans who will have to pay out the nose for it," said Gilbert, Peyton's father.

Both spoke at the rally.

Supporters of the corridor and toll roads say they are the only way to accommodate the state's growth without increasing gasoline taxes.

"Texans need and deserve real solutions to our growing traffic challenges, not just blind opposition to new lane and highway construction," said Bill Noble, a spokesman for Texans for Safe Reliable Transportation, a pro-tollway group. "Every day we delay building new roads means higher construction costs and more frustration for drivers."

In the warm, breezy spring weather, most rally participants carried signs with slogans like "No TTC!" and "Who does TTC benefit?" while listening to the band the Texicans play "The Trans-Texas Corridor Blues."

Many sported shirts and paraphernalia from Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign, expressing their support for the Libertarian-leaning lawmaker.

"Ron Paul stands up for the Constitution," said Charles Walker, who hails from Lake Jackson, which is in the lawmaker's district. "He was one of the original people to oppose the corridor."

______________________________

Link to article here.

April 5, 2008
Toll road opponents rally in Austin against Trans-Texas Corridor
Houston Chronicle

© 2008 The Associated Press

AUSTIN — A crowd marched through the heart of downtown Austin to the state Capitol on Saturday to protest Gov. Rick Perry's plan for 4,000 miles of toll roads across Texas.

The Trans-Texas Corridor, a proposed network of superhighway toll roads, rankles opponents who characterize it as the largest government grab of private property in the state's history and an unneeded and improper expansion of toll roads.

Rally participants carried signs with slogans like "No TTC!" and "Whodoes TTC benefit?" while listening to the band the Texicans play "The Trans-Texas Corridor Blues," the Austin American-Statesman reported for its Sunday editions.

"In a nutshell, we are against it because of the devastation it's going to cause rural and urban landowners, the effect it will have on the middle class and the consequences it will have on our liberty," said Hank Gilbert of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom.

Texas Department of Transportation officials and Perry have defended the project as necessary to address future traffic concerns in one of the nation's fastest-growing states. They also say the project is vital because of insufficient road revenues from the state gas tax and the federal government.

Cost of the project has been estimated at approaching $200 billion, and it could take as long as 50 years to complete.

Supporters of the corridor and toll roads say they are the only way the state's growth can be accommodated without hiking gasoline taxes.

"Texans need and deserve real solutions to our growing traffic challenges, not just blind opposition to new lane and highway construction," said Bill Noble, a spokesman for Texans for Safe Reliable Transportation, a pro-toll roads group. "Every day we delay building new roads means higher construction costs and more frustration for drivers."

Ogden: Trans Texas Corridor is dead

NOTE: Senator Ogden's office is now saying the Senator said: "TTC-69 is dead in Walker County" and that we "misinterpreted" his comments. Commissioner Gaines was very clear with TURF that Ogden told him the TTC-69 is dead (the whole enchilada, not just Walker County), and that news was spreading in East Texas enough to panic our supporters who were encountering people who said they were no longer going to the rally because the TTC-69 project had been scrapped.

Then, in another incident, we have a witness who was in the room when the Mayor of Kendleton, Carolyn Jones, also said the TTC-69 project is dead and over, and then went on to say "so there's no need to attend that rally in Austin Saturday." She directly tried to suppress attendance at the rally and deliberately gave out false information to the public. Kendleton and Huntsville aren't even near one another, yet this news hit the same day and we heard about it in two different regions. Jones indicated she had attended a meeting Monday morning, March 31, where she was assured the TTC-69 project was dead. Yet TxDOT's official statement to a CNN reporter yesterday was this: "We just extended the public hearing process on the project. No, the project is not dead."

So who's responsible for holding that meeting Mayor Jones referred to, and why would anybody want to tell all these elected officials that TTC-69 is dead (the same week as our rally, conveniently not during the public hearings) when all the official documents and public information say otherwise? The conclusion is clear: this misinformation is being spread to suppress turnout at the rally and minimize the embarrassment of the politicians in the path of these corridors.  

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ogden says TTC-69 scrapped, elected officials discourage attendance at TURF rally
 
East Texas, April 2, 2008 – Yesterday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Senator Steve Ogden told Walker County Commissioner, B.J. Gaines, that the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) I-69 project is over, scrapped, finito. The word is spreading like wildfire among elected officials in the path of TTC-69, including the Mayor of Kendleton, just in time to tell constituents: “There’s no need to attend that rally in Austin this weekend since the TTC-69 project is over.”

Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) is organizing a march up Congress Avenue and rally on the South Capitol steps Saturday, April 5 from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM, and they’re crying foul for what appears to be an effort to suppress grassroots turnout. TURF has been getting calls from panicked supporters who are hearing some residents now believe the TTC-69 has been stopped.

“At this juncture, it’s naïve to believe word one from politicians or TxDOT, an agency run amok, that is misusing our taxpayer money to lobby in favor of the Trans Texas Corridor and prone to $1 billion accounting errors! The TTC-69 public comment period isn’t even completed yet, and the environmental hearings were completed only weeks ago, and now they’re trying to convince taxpayers the project is dead? Who are they kidding?” notes Terri Hall, Founder of TURF.


“You’d think the first call they’d make is to grassroots groups like ours to call off the dogs. The fact that they haven’t called, tells us this claim is an attempt to suppress turnout at what could be a thousands-strong march to the shame of many Texas politicians, and yet another example of our own government lobbying against the people,” Hall believes.

“The claim the TTC-69 project is over is an underhanded eleventh hour dirty trick to sabotage the people’s right to protest this project, and we’re asking for every state law, every Transportation Commission Minute Order, every local Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and tolling authority plan authorizing the Trans Texas Corridor be immediately revoked IN WRITING. Until that’s done, we’re pressing ahead. It’s clear we can’t trust a word that comes out of the mouths of TxDOT or politicians,” says Hank Gilbert, TURF Board member and Rally Coordinator.

The Don’t Mess with Texas TURF, Stop the TTC & Tolls Rally will have a host of national, state, and local speakers including the Teamsters, Eagle Forum, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Oklahoma Senator Randy Brogdon (who passed legislation to stop the Trans Texas Corridor from coming through Oklahoma), Texas State Legislators and local leaders like the Chair of the first Sub-regional Planning Commission putting a roadblock in the way of TTC-35.

CNN's Lou Dobbs couldn't believe Texans would allow Rick Perry and the Texas Legislature to steal our land and allow the TTC to be built. "What happened to 'Don't Mess With Texas?'" (see it here). Texans through TURF plan to show Lou Dobbs and our politicians who are discouraging attendance at the rally…don't mess with Texas TURF!

WHAT: STOP the TTC & Tolls Across Texas RALLY, with a march up Congress Avenue then rally on the south Capitol steps in Austin

WHO: Texas farmers, ranchers, and ordinary citizens from all over Texas. Also, entertainment by The Texicans (singers/songwriters of Trans Texas Corridor Blues) and Jack Motley (featured in Truth Be Tolled movie)

WHEN: Saturday, April 5

March begins - 12:15 pm

(the staging area for the march will be at the parking lots at the corner of Cesar Chavez St. & Red River St.)
Rally from - 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

WHERE: South Capitol steps, Austin, TX

Stop the TTC & Tolls Rally April 5

PRESS ADVISORY

Stop the TTC & Tolls Rally

Don’t mess with Texas TURF


Austin, TX –Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) is organizing a march down Congress Avenue and rally on the South Capitol steps Saturday, April 5. Invited speakers include: Congressman Ron Paul (R – TX), Congressman Virgil Goode (R – VA), Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D – OH), and Oklahoma Senator Randy Brogdon (all of whom have introduced and/or passed bills or resolutions to stop funding the Trans Texas Corridor), along with many Texas State Legislators and local leaders like Mayor Mae Smith of Holland, Chair of the first Subregional Planning Commission putting a roadblock in the path of TTC-35 and Michael Quinn Sullivan of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility .

CNN's Lou Dobbs couldn't believe Texans would allow Rick Perry and the Texas Legislature to steal our land and allow the TTC to be built. "What happened to 'Don't Mess With Texas?'" (See it here). Texans through TURF plan to show Lou Dobbs and the WORLD: Don't mess with Texas TURF!

WHAT:

STOP THE TTC & TOLLS ACROSS TEXAS RALLY, with a march down Congress Avenue then rally on the south Capitol steps in Austin

WHO:

Texas farmers, ranchers, and ordinary citizens from all over Texas, also entertainment by The Texicans (singers/songwriters of Trans Texas Corridor Blues) and Jack Motley (featured in Truth Be Tolled movie)

WHEN: Saturday, April 5

March begins - 12:15 pm

(The staging area for the march will be at the parking lots at the corner of Cesar Chavez St. & Red River St.)

Rally from - 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

WHERE: South Capitol steps, Austin, TX

TURF headed to court for lawsuit to stop TxDOT's lobbying

PRESS ADVISORY

TURF headed to next court hearing in lawsuit to STOP TxDOT’s illegal lobbying


(Austin, TX) - In Travis County District Court on Thursday, March 20, 2008, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) and TxDOT Attorney Kristina Silcocks will square off at a hearing where TxDOT will challenge the court’s jurisdiction over the lawsuit to halt the misuse of taxpayer money for advertising tolls/TTC and lobbying by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).


WHO: Texas taxpayers through TURF
WHAT: Lawsuit seeking to halt TxDOT’s taxpayer-funded ad campaign & lobbying activities
WHEN: Thursday, March 20, 2008 @ 9 AM
WHERE: Travis County District Court, 1000 Guadalupe, Austin, Texas (Judge to be drawn that morning)
HOW: The press needs to register request for cameras in the courtroom in advance through the court clerk. Contact Warren Vavra at (512) 854-9093 for more information.

This lawsuit is brought pursuant to § 37, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. TURF believes the law clearly prohibits TxDOT’s expenditure of public funds for the Keep Texas Moving pro-toll, pro-Trans Texas Corridor propaganda campaign.

TxDOT has violated § 556.004 of the Texas Government Code by directing the expenditure of public funds for political advocacy in support of toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor, and have directly lobbied the United States Congress in favor of additional toll road programs as evidenced in its report, Forward Momentum.

“TxDOT is waging a one-sided political ad campaign designed to sway public opinion in favor of the policy that puts money in TxDOT’s own coffers,” says an incredulous Terri Hall, Founder/Director of TURF.

On August 22, 2007, TURF filed a formal complaint with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to investigate TxDOT’s illegal lobbying and asked him to prosecute TxDOT for criminal wrongdoing. See the formal complaint here. TURF's petition seeks to stop TxDOT's misuse of taxpayer money in a civil proceeding.

Citizens file lawsuit to halt 281 toll project

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TURF, AGUA file lawsuit to halt 281 toll project
Citizens call for gas tax funded improvements be installed immediately


San Antonio, TX, February 26, 2008 - Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), a grassroots group defending citizens from tolls on existing roads, and Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas (AGUA), advocates for protection of the Edwards Aquifer, have joined together to file a lawsuit in federal court today asking that plans to convert US 281 to a toll road be stopped pending full compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.

The lawsuit alleges TxDOT failed to do a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this massive project over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, the sole source of water for over 1.2 million people as well as failed to study the cumulative effects of the combined 281 and Loop 1604 projects on the region’s economy, property values, tax revenues, businesses, residents, neighborhoods, and motorists.

“The controversy is indisputable. The overwhelming majority of citizens do NOT want their freeways converted into toll roads. This practice is now against the law without a public vote (HB 2702), but that hasn’t stopped our politicians from continuing this highway robbery,” Terri Hall, founder of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), fumed.

SMOKING GUN
PROOF THEY’RE TOLLING EXISTING ROADS

TURF posted a video on YouTube of State Representative David Leibowitz asking Alamo RMA Executive Director Terry Brechtel if, in fact, they are tolling existing roads/right of way already paid for by the taxpayers, and she answers, “That is correct.”

Together the highway expansions and toll projects of US 281 and Loop 1604 will cost well over $1 billion (US 281 is now up to $475 million, and Loop 1604 is approximately $1 billion). Yet TxDOT's environmental assessment claims there is "no significant impact" to residents, motorists, and businesses who will now be charged a toll to use what today is toll-free.

Hall pointed out that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) forced TxDOT to do a full EIS on the Bandera Road toll project (http://texasturf.org/images/stories/pdf/FHWA-Letter_Bandera-Road-EIS.pdf) citing the toll controversy as the reason. She noted the obvious contradiction of FHWA’s own policy of recommending a full EIS on controversial projects by its approval of 281 without an EIS compared to its mandate forcing an EIS on Bandera Road.

Hall thinks the only difference is that the politicians near Bandera Road are reflecting the citizen opposition against the toll road (Helotes, Grey Forest, and Leon Valley have all passed resolutions against the Bandera Rd toll project) while the politicians in the 281/1604 area, Frank Corte and Jeff Wentworth, are not.

“The politicians representing this area are pro-toll even though over 90% of the public feedback is opposed to the toll projects. It’s that stubborn refusal to step in and stop this double taxation that lands us in court today,” Hall concluded.

"Charging a toll will only hurt local businesses and residents who have invested in the 281 corridor. This is clearly taxation without representation. School boards and municipalities have to come to the voters to approve massive bond measures, and yet the Alamo RMA is about to sell $1 billion in toll revenue bonds without voter approval. What a horrific injustice to taxpayers!” said Hall.

Hall continued, “Special interests will profit from these tolls, since road contractors stand to make four times the money ($475 million) for converting 281 into a toll road instead of making the promised freeway improvements that have been funded with our gas tax money since 2003 (total freeway plan cost: $100 million). TxDOT and our politicians who enable them have continued to jam this down the taxpayers' throats over the public's opposition. It's time to install the gas tax funded overpass & expansion plan now.”

In public hearings in 2001, TxDOT promised improvements to 281 would be begin in 2003, but then did a bait and switch and decided to convert the entire 281 freeway into a toll road. Prominent businessmen auto dealer Ernesto Ancira and Tetco President Tom Turner both sent letters asking the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to revert back to the gas tax improvement plan in January of 2007 to no avail. The citizens have done the same.

Concerned citizens through TURF feel TxDOT and elected officials have forced them to go to court just to get them to comply with the law and to halt the toll project. Once the toll project is on hold, the citizens are demanding the gas tax FUNDED plan for overpasses be installed immediately.

“Most people believe TxDOT and the RMA’s lies that the ONLY way to get congestion relief is toll roads, which is patently false. They’ve had the cash in hand to fix 281 for 5 years, but they’ve hijacked our freeway simply to raid our wallets,” says Hall.

“This lawsuit is really about common-sense. It is ridiculous to say there is no significant impact from adding $1 billion worth of infrastructure over the recharge and contributing zones.” said Enrique Valdivia, President of AGUA. "TxDOT and US Fish & Wildlife issued a 'Finding of No Significant Impact' (FONSI) for highway 281, and a 'not likely to adversely affect' finding for endangered karst invertebrate species and the golden-cheeked warbler. Obviously,we think paving over 300 acres of recharge is pretty significant to everyone who depends on the aquifer."

The Edwards Aquifer is a karst aquifer that is highly vulnerable to water pollution because surface water quickly enters the aquifer through recharge features without significant filtration. Many toxic pollutants, such as benzene, are being found in aquifer wells and are common components of highway and parking lot run-off.

The plaintiffs are represented by Save Our Springs Alliance. SOS Alliance’s litigation docket and information on the adverse affects of highways can be found at www.sosalliance.org.

TURF also has a lawsuit pending against TXDOT for its misuse of taxpayer funds to "sell" the public toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor and for lobbying using taxpayer money.

View the filed complaint

AGUA's website is www.aquiferguardians.org

TURF's website is www.TexasTURF.org

Ft. Bend Town Hall packed with corridor foes!


Link to article here.

Fort Bend folks don't care for Trans-Texas Corridor either
Friday, January 25, 2008
By Vicente Arenas / KHOU 11 News



TxDOT is finding few supporters for the plan as they conduct a series of town hall meetings
If Texas Department of Transportation officials were looking to gain support for the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor Thursday night, Fort Bend County wasn’t the place to be.

The folks who packed the Rosenberg Civic Center Thursday night were angry.

“This will wipe me out. How is this in my best interest?,” East Bernard resident Dee Bond asked of state transportation officials.

“Why can’t you work with what ya’ll got? Instead of going off in a different direction,” asked Houston resident Doug Bilbrey.

Also online
Copy of proposed route of Trans-Texas Corridor (pdf)Keep Texas Moving Web site, including schedule of upcoming public meetingsTURF, Trans-Texas Corridor opposition group Web site
Most of the 600 people who crowded Rosenberg’s Civic Center Thursday are landowners who are afraid the proposed highway will swallow up their homes and prime farmland that’s been in families for generations.

“If this is gaining so much opposition, do we want this road or do we not want this road?” said Wharton resident Dianne Coan.

The response to the state’s plan was just as hostile in Fort Bend County Thursday as residents in Waller County were the night before.

“I don’t know why they are blowing smoke and tell us what they want this road,” El Campo resident David Coan complained.

The Trans-Texas Corridor, also known as I-69, would have lanes for 18-wheelers as well as space for trains and it would stretch from the border to near Houston and on to Arkansas.

It would eventually criss-cross the state. But no one at the meeting Thursday wanted it.

TxDOT says the highways are needed to help keep up with the state’s booming population and make it easier to transport goods between the U.S., Mexico and South America.

TxDOT told the crowd the highway is still years from being built, but that was little comfort when it’s your land in the crosshairs.

TxDOT admits to breaking the law, hired lobbyists!

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SMOKING GUN…
TxDOT confronted with docs showing they hired lobbyists

Houghton admits TxDOT hired lobbyists, defended it, and admitted to doing it personally, too!

Hempstead, TX, January 22, 2008 – TxDOT was confronted by TURF Board Member Hank Gilbert at tonight's Town Hall Meeting in Hempstead about it hiring 4 federal lobbyists (paid $5,000 and $10,000 monthly retainers ) Chad Bradley, Drew Maloney, Garry Mauro, Billy Moore and one state lobbyist with Alliance for I-69, Gary Bushell, to lobby elected officials and solicit them in selling the public on the controversial Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 privatized toll project.

On March 23, 2007, Bushell met directly with 4 Waller County Commissioners Glenn Beckendorff, Bill Eplen, Terry Harrison, and Milton Whiting. Apparently at the first meeting, Bushell didn't identify himself as a lobbyist as required by law. He failed to declare that he was a lobbyist until the second meeting with commissioners when two TxDOT personnel accompanied Bushell.

It apparently didn’t do TxDOT any good since the Waller County Commissioners have since passed a resolution against the Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 project coming through Waller County. But that’s not the case in other meetings where elected officials raced to the microphone to sing the praises of the TTC-69 to their constituents like they did in Texarkana, January 15.

As part of TURF’s lawsuit against the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for its ad campaign to advocate toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor (in violation of Texas Government Code Chapter 556), new evidence uncovered this taxpayer-funded lobbying by TxDOT.

TURF discovered detailed logs showing a concerted campaign to lobby politicians, particularly newly elected officials, which is a BIG no-no for a state agency that must remain apolitical. Bushell personally lobbied more than two-dozen elected officials in the path of TTC-69 prior to the Town Hall meetings.

Houghton admits TxDOT violated the law!
At the packed Town Hall meeting in Hempstead tonight (estimated 800-1,000 people in attendance), Transportation Commissioner Ted Houghton said he also personally met with every county judge in the path of the Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 as he defended the “necessity” of TxDOT hiring lobbyists to “lobby” elected officials (he used that exact word multiple times).

This action is in DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE LAW!

Texas Government Code:
§ 556.005. Employment of Lobbyist

(a) A state agency may not use appropriated money to employ, as a regular full-time or part-time or contract employee, a person who is required by Chapter 305 to register as a lobbyist. Except for an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, a state agency may not use any money under its control to employ or contract with an individual who is required by Chapter 305 to register as a lobbyist.

"Where's the Travis County District Attorney? TxDOT has now publicly admitted, on camera, that it has violated the LAW!" says an incredulous Terri Hall, Founder of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (or TURF).


Zachry sends observer
Trouble in the private toll paradise?
Another first at tonight’s Town Hall was the presence of a Zachry employee taking meticulous notes on his laptop. Zachry Construction is one of the private consortiums seeking the development rights (need to fix link) to the TTC 69 project.

“This is a first,” said Hank Gilbert, a TURF Board member attending the Town Halls. “I’ve never seen a Zachry employee at a single public meeting in my 3 1/2 years fighting this thing.”

This may indicate trouble in Governor’s Perry’s world of private sector control of our public highways. The 80th Legislature passed a private toll moratorium (SB 792) in 2007 and the public-private partnership lobby has been jittery ever since. The public opposition is growing more fierce and more organized.

TURF also discovered in a memo to TxDOT dated November 8, 2007, that Rodman & Co. marketing gurus seem to have drafted quotes on behalf of elected officials in order to place them as positive quotes in press releases about the TTC-69 project.

TxDOT also hired Governor Rick Perry’s political polling outfit, Bacelice & Associates, to conduct a poll that included asking one’s political party affiliation in its questions.

“What does a person’s political party have to do with a supposed ‘public information’ campaign? Nothing, it’s clear this ad campaign is about pushing a political agenda and brainwashing the public with pro-toll talking points like ‘tolls are better than gas taxes to fund roads'. C’mon, this is politics run amok and an agency run amok. Who’s going to rein them in?” criticizes Hall.

“TxDOT has patently and repeatedly denied that they’ve been illegally lobbying elected officials, yet they secretly and knowingly hired registered lobbyists to do the Governor’s dirty work in ramming toll roads and this Trans Texas Corridor down the taxpayers’ throats! It’s an outrage and we intend to put a stop to it since no one else will,” promises Hall.

“The LAW forbids TxDOT from using taxpayer money for a political purpose, only to find they’ve blown millions on PR firms and are currently using OUR MONEY to put up more than 2 dozen TxDOT employees as they galavant all over the state in a series of Town Hall meetings. The Town Halls are for purely political purposes, and they’re more akin to a propaganda-filled dog and pony show than a real dialogue giving the public veto power over this project,” notes Hall.

TxDOT is holding this series of Town Hall Meetings ahead of the official LEGAL public hearings for TTC-69 in order to win over an unsuspecting public and to divert critics AWAY from registering their opposition on the official LEGAL record at the public hearings to follow.

TxDOT’s behavior demonstrates why there are laws prohibiting the government from using its power and OUR money against the taxpayer. The citizens have the deck stacked against them when their own government forcibly takes their money and uses it to clobber them.

What TxDOT calls “outreach” is, in reality, an ad campaign (www.KeepTexasMoving.com) using public relations firms and political strategists to “sell” the public on a privatized, tolled trade corridor from Laredo to Texarkana.

Like TTC-35, TTC-69 plans to convert some existing highways into privately controlled toll roads, making Texas taxpayers pay twice for the same stretch of road as well as to force Texas landowners to give-up their farms and ranches for a massive new stretch of road in order to complete the entire TTC-69 project.

Read the latest in TURF’s lawsuit against TxDOT’s misuse of taxpayer money for an ad campaign advocating tolls and against its lobbying activities here (Need to fix link).

Read TURF’s formal complaint against TxDOT’s illegal use of taxpayer money filed with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle here (Need to fix link Press Release: 'TURF asks Ronnie Earle to prosecute TxDOT!').
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TURF COURT HEARING: AG admits more taxpayer money to be spent on ad campaign

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
TxDOT attorney admits ad campaign is ongoing
 
Austin, TX, December 20, 2007 – Today in Travis County District Court, Judge Orlinda Naranjo did not sustain TxDOT’s objection to the requested material’s merits to the case, but ruled TURF’s document request was worded too broadly and needs to be resubmitted as part of the discovery phase of TURF's lawsuit against TxDOT for illegal lobbying and use of taxpayer money to sell the public on toll roads.

“After tweaking the wording of the request a bit, we’ll be back in business. The Judge clearly agreed we have a right to get access to this information. She wanted to be sure we weren’t buried in piles of irrelevant documents,” notes a positive Terri Hall, Founder of TURF.

The court also granted TURF another 30 days to give them time to reword the document request and to depose witnesses based on the information discovered.

The most significant admission from the State was that the Keep Texas Moving ad campaign does have multiple phases (as the documents we presented to the court show that the State tried to deny), and that TxDOT is obligated to hand over any new documents related to any current lobbying or that relate to spending public money to promote toll roads.

“That’s HUGE! We went from a sworn affidavit saying the ad campaign is over therefore the case is moot, to an admission the campaign has multiple phases and is ongoing. We believe TxDOT is in the midst of rolling out Phase II or III of the Keep Texas Moving campaign since the public hearings for Trans Texas Corridor (TTC) 69 project start in February and are the target for the next phase of the campaign. The State admitted it MUST turn over any current information related to these allegations. It keeps the case alive and means we have a real shot at stopping the use of taxpayer money to promote the TTC!” Hall predicts.

The Attorney General Counsel representing TxDOT, Kristina Silcocks, tried to attack the merits of the case once again stating there is no ongoing lobbying of Congress and argued the Forward Momentum report sent to Congress in January that asks for legislation to allow them to buy back and toll existing interstates is in the past and cannot be explored in this lawsuit.

“Once again, TxDOT is wrong. An appropriations bill before the President RIGHT NOW includes an amendment PROHIBITING TxDOT from buying back interstates. There is CURRENT legislation pending as a direct result of TxDOT’s lobbying (in this case, as a backlash to TxDOT’s lobbying efforts). So for the State to tell the court TxDOT isn’t currently engaged in efforts to effect the outcome of legislation or support for toll roads, they’re quite mistaken,” notes Hall.

This lawsuit is brought pursuant to § 37, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. TxDOT’s expenditure of public funds for the Keep Texas Moving campaign is illegal, and an injunction prohibiting any further illegal expenditures in this regard.

TxDOT has violated § 556.004 of the Texas Government Code by directing the expenditure of public funds for political advocacy in support of toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor, and have directly lobbied the United States Congress in favor of additional toll road programs as evidenced in its report, Forward Momentum as well as the Texas Legislature when it tried to defeat HB 1892, a private equity toll moratorium bill.

October 18, 2007, Judge Naranjo granted TURF a 90 day continuance and allowed them to move to discovery and take depositions. On Monday, September 24, Judge Naranjo did not grant a temporary restraining order (TRO). TxDOT unearthed a law that says they can advertise toll roads (Sec 228.004 of Transportation Code) and the citizens invoked another that says they can’t (Chapter 556, Texas Government Code). The burden to obtain a TRO is higher than for an injunction.
 
“TxDOT is waging a one-sided political ad campaign designed to sway public opinion in favor of the policy that puts money in TxDOT’s own coffers. School Boards cannot lobby in favor of their own bond elections, and yet TxDOT cites its own special law to line their own pockets at taxpayers’ expense,” says Hall.
 
Hall also notes that TxDOT’s campaign goes beyond mere advertising, “It’s propaganda and in some cases, the ads blatantly lie to the public! In one radio ad (scroll down to radio ad “continuing maintenance”), it claims it’s not signing contracts with non-compete agreements in them and yet last March TxDOT inked a deal with Cintra-Zachry for SH 130 (read about it here) that had a non-compete clause (which either prohibits or financially punishes the State for building competing infrastructure with a toll road).”

On August 22, 2007, TURF filed a formal complaint with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to investigate TxDOT’s illegal lobbying and asked him to prosecute TxDOT for criminal wrongdoing. See the formal complaint here. The petition seeks immediate injunctive relief in a civil proceeding to prevent any further lobbying or expenditure of public funds to promote toll roads.

To read about TURF’s victory in court October 18 and to read TURF’s amended petition and supplemental affidavits go here. (Scroll to the bottom for links to the petition and affidavits)
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Hearing to compel TxDOT to hand over documents regarding illegal lobbying

PRESS ADVISORY

TURF court hearing to compel TxDOT to hand over documents regarding illegal lobbying
TxDOT stalled document inspection by two weeks then left out half of the documents; TxDOT fights to keep Chair Ric Williamson from being deposed under oath

In Travis County District Court before Judge Orlinda Naranjo on Thursday, December 20, 2007, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) will ask the Judge to compel the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to hand over documents regarding its involvement in lobbying the U.S. Congress, the Texas Legislature, and other local elected officials.

WHO: Texas taxpayers through TURF
WHAT: Lawsuit seeking injunction to halt TxDOT’s taxpayer-funded illegal ad campaign & lobbying activities
WHEN: Thursday, December 20, 2007@ 2 PM
WHERE: Travis County District Court before Judge Orlinda Naranjo, 1000 Guadalupe, Austin, Texas
HOW: The press needs to register request for cameras in the courtroom in advance through the court clerk. Contact Warren Vavra at (512) 854-9093 for more information. A pool camera has been allowed in previous hearings.

This lawsuit is brought pursuant to § 37, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. TxDOT’s expenditure of public funds for the Keep Texas Moving campaign is illegal, and an injunction prohibiting any further illegal expenditures in this regard.

TxDOT has violated § 556.004 of the Texas Government Code by directing the expenditure of public funds for political advocacy in support of toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor, and have directly lobbied the United States Congress in favor of additional toll road programs as evidenced in its report, Forward Momentum as well as the Texas Legislature when it tried to defeat HB 1892, a private equity toll moratorium bill.

October 18, 2007, Judge Naranjo granted TURF a 90 day continuance and allowed them to move to discovery and take depositions (http://texasturf.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=262&Itemid=26). On Monday, September 24, Judge Naranjo did not grant a temporary restraining order (TRO). TxDOT unearthed a law that says they can advertise toll roads (Sec 228.004 of Transportation Code) and the citizens invoked another that says they can’t (Chapter 556, Texas Government Code). The burden to obtain a TRO is higher than for an injunction.

“TxDOT is waging a one-sided political ad campaign designed to sway public opinion in favor of the policy that puts money in TxDOT’s own coffers. School Boards cannot lobby in favor of their own bond elections, and yet TxDOT cites its own special law to line their own pockets at taxpayers’ expense,” says Terri Hall, Founder/Director of TURF.

Hall also notes that TxDOT’s campaign goes beyond mere advertising, “It’s propaganda and in some cases, the ads blatantly lie to the public! In one radio ad (scroll down to "continuing maintenance"), it claims it’s not signing contracts with non-compete agreements in them and yet last March TxDOT inked a deal with Cintra-Zachry for SH 130 (read about it here) that had a non-compete clause (which either prohibits or financially punishes the State for building competing infrastructure with a toll road).”

On August 22, 2007, TURF filed a formal complaint with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to investigate TxDOT’s illegal lobbying and asked him to prosecute TxDOT for criminal wrongdoing. See the formal complaint here. The petition seeks immediate injunctive relief in a civil proceeding.

To read about TURF’s victory in court October 18 and to read TURF’s amended petition and supplemental affidavits go here.. (Scroll to the bottom for links to the petition and affidavits)
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TURF Founder named San Antonian of the Year

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TURF Founder named San Antonian of the Year

Toll road issue catapulted a grassroots movement across the state that got lawmakers to take notice

(Friday, December 14, 2007, San Antonio, TX) TURF Founder and Director Terri Hall was named San Antonian of the Year by WOAI News Radio in San Antonio today.

“What a surprise! This honor belongs to the PEOPLE of Texas for their indefatigable passion and support that started as a small band of concerned citizens that later launched a movement across the state,” shared Hall.

Hall got involved in the toll road fight in 2005 after attending a Texas Department of Transportation meeting that announced her main lifeline (US 281) for business, medical care, and shopping was going to be converted into a toll road. Then a mother of five children (now she has 6), Hall knew she and her family would be priced off the highway and forced into a difficult life-altering situation if she didn’t get involved and try to stop it. After contacting her legislators and getting nowhere, she knew it was going to take organizing fellow citizens to get lawmakers attention.

The group soon became a movement causing a firestorm of controversy all the way to the halls of Washington D.C.  At the crux of the issue is HOW the toll roads are being implemented more than the projects themselves.

“This is being foisted upon Texans without their consent. Appointed boards are making multi-billion dollar toll tax decisions that will literally impact peoples’ everyday lives. Decisions about where folks live, work, and play are being deeply affected and the people aren’t being given a say in the matter. Let the people vote!” notes Hall. “The citizens need to be put back in the driver’s seat when it comes to transportation decisions, especially how transportation is financed. "

“TxDOT has too much power, they’re not accountable, and they’re deaf to the citizen outcry, so much so they’re spending $9 million in TAXPAYER money to sell us toll roads. It’s time for a sweeping change, and we intend to make it happen,” Hall promised.

Read about TURF’s lawsuit to stop TxDOT from spending taxpayer money to lobby for toll roads here.

Read about how the study of TxDOT’s misuse of taxpayer money to lobby for toll roads has been added to the Texas House of Representatives Interim Charge here..

###

MPO Chair McNeil to taxpayers: "Those people can afford the tolls"

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Terri Hall  /  PHONE: (210) 275-0640
Founder/Executive Director
Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom (TURF) & San Antonio Toll Party
Contact: Tommy Calvert, Jr. / PHONE: (210) 481-0198
President & CEO
Calvert International Consulting

VIDEO SHOWS MCNEIL LIES ABOUT CITY DATA PRIOR TO TOLL TAX VOTE

Distortion At Public Forum Shows Toll Advocates Resorting to Class warfare & Lies Prior To Tax Increase Vote

San Antonio, TX, Friday, November 30, 2007 – During a meeting of the United Homeowners Improvement Association (UHIA) on Wednesday, Councilwoman Sheila McNeil (Dist 2) and Chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (SAMPO), was so taken aback by constituent opposition to tolls that she multiplied city statistics by ten times in an effort to silence discontent over toll road proposals.
 
“Those people can afford the toll roads. The average income up there is $300,000 a year," McNeil told her constituents. The City of San Antonio's website contradicts McNeil’s statement as it notes the per capita income in District 9 is only $31,000. McNeil admits she’s fine with voting to toll the northside, just not in her backyard, leaving out the fact that many of her constituents travel, go to school and shop in the job-rich northside. 

See video of McNeil’s hacking of facts on YouTube:

(You Tube account terminated...)


Noting the obvious commute that many District 2 residents take to the northside everyday, Dr. Joyce McCullen, district 2 neighborhood leader and former VP of the PTA exclaimed, “It’s already hard enough to make ends meet with gas over $3.00, now they’ll take money we use for groceries and prescription drugs to make construction companies rich.”

McNeil also told her constituents to take the access roads if they couldn’t afford the toll roads, essentially telling them to contend with traffic congestion while the wealthy get an expressway.
 
McNeil attended a cozy, closed door meeting at Valero October 19, that the Chamber of Commerce crowd called to rally the business community to gain approval of the toll roads at the SAMPO meeting on December 3. Her loyalties appear to be with big business and not her constituents whose average household income by contrast is $14,512 a year.
 
“I don’t think San Antonians like their politicians making our city the Neo-Fascist capitol of America.  Mussolini is looking up from hell and thanking pro-tollers for carrying on his legacy of authoritarianism and a corporate-run state.  Then our elected officials pretend there is the option of allowing us to use alternate streets when they are giving control of those alternate routes to the toll operators.  When they give away the maintenance of the feeder streets to the toll owners as part of the non-compete clause their financeers require, how would any right-minded person be expected to believe its in the best interests of those toll owners to maintain those roads?  This reminds me of plantation segregationists engraving the words ‘colored’ over a black school and calling it ‘separate but equal’. Real American leaders take us toward a more perfect union, despots divide and conquer.  It’s a sad day when a Black elected official in essence slaps the ‘colored’ sign on our freeways and stereotypes people based on income because of the side of town they live in,” notes Tommy Calvert, Jr. president and CEO of Calvert International Consulting.
 
 
"We're creating a segregated highway system: One for the wealthy and one for the rest of us. It's horrible to pit one part of the community against the other. We need to be doing what's in the best interest of the entire community. These are federal and state highways that don't stop at the district or county line," said Terri Hall, Founder and Director of the San Antonio Toll Party and Texans uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF).
 
Over 80,000 automated telephone calls have been made urging people to turn out to Monday’s SAMPO meeting at 1:30 p.m. at the VIA building on San Pedro & Evergreen to tell the Board to vote no on tolls, no matter where they are planned.
 
The SAMPO is likely being asked to vote FOR a non-compete agreement that would prevent the expansion of free roads surrounding the 281 tollway like Bulverde Rd., Red Land Rd., Stone Oak Pkwy, and Blanco Rd because the bond investors require them to guarantee a return on their investment. But we don’t know because TxDOT is keeping it SECRET ahead of Monday’s vote!

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TURF seeks injunction, alleges MPO a “front” for toll road builders, operating outside Constitution

From the steps of the John Wood U.S. Federal District Court in Bexar County, TURF announced its motion seeking an injunction against the San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization (SAMPO) for violating the citizens Constitutional rights (in the First and 14th amendments) and hijacking the Board to benefit road contractors.

“By filing this injunction today, we hope to put transportation decisions back in the hands of the people,” said Terri Hall, Founder/Director of the grassroots group TURF.

TURF is asking the court to intervene before December 3 where SAMPO is to vote to approve the financial terms (toll rates and rate increases) for the US 281 toll project as well as to shift yet more tax money to building toll lanes on EXISTING corridors, amounting to a TRIPLE TAX (once for what’s already there, a second for building the toll lanes, and a third toll tax).

TxDOT is keeping vital financial information on the 281 toll project SECRET ahead of the MPO’s vote to approve the financial terms. Board members are being asked to vote on information that has NOT been disclosed, including whether or not a non-compete agreement will prevent free roads surrounding the 281 toll lanes from being expanded.


MPO Board members State Representative David Leibowitz and Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson submitted affidavits (see links below) to the court with ample evidence to prove the MPO has violated the First Amendment and 14th Amendment as it relates to citizens opposed to toll roads.

TURF attorney David Van Os described the actions of the MPO this way: “The self-serving business interests that will reap huge profits off toll roads are manipulating the processes of the MPO to stack the deck against those opposed to tolls. They’re keeping their voices from even being heard which violates their Constitutional rights.”

Adkisson, who has been prevented from representing his constituents’ opposition to toll roads by the MPO’s bullying tactics used Thomas Paine’s words to describe the corrupt practices at the MPO, “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it the superficial appearance of being right.”

He went on to object to unelected members of the MPO serving on the Board which, in effect, dilutes the votes of elected officials. “Unelected members aren’t accountable at the ballot box,” said Adkisson.

The injunction seeks to halt all activity of the SAMPO Board until it’s reconfigured to have only elected officials with voting powers. TURF’s lawsuit against the SAMPO was originally filed on October 22 and TURF is now seeking an injunction as the next step in that lawsuit to force the unconstitutional composition of SAMPO to be re-configured to have only elected officials with voting powers.

SAMPO allocates tax dollars to transportation projects in Bexar County and approves toll rates and toll projects. The lawsuit alleges that the composition of the SAMPO Board is unconstitutional and Chairwoman Sheila McNeil has been a party to denying the First Amendment right of free speech to the constituents of elected MPO Board members like State Representative David Leibowitz by blocking an agenda item and any debate on an issue brought up at his request (see on YouTube here read about it in his affidavit, link below).

TURF recently scored a victory in STATE COURT in a different lawsuit against members of the Texas Transportation Department and Transportation Commission.

TxDOT keeps toll study SECRET

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TxDOT keeps toll study SECRET, refuses to divulge financial terms ahead of 281 vote
MPO Board asked to vote FOR possible non-compete agreement preventing expansion of free roads

San Antonio, TX, Thursday, November 15, 2007 – Ahead of a monolithic vote to approve toll rates for 281 at the San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization (SAMPO) on December 3, citizens and MPO Board members alike have more questions about the 281 toll rates than answers. The MPO is likely being asked to vote FOR a non-compete agreement that would prevent the expansion of free roads surrounding the US 281 tollway like Bulverde Rd., Red Land Rd., Stone Oak Pkwy, and Blanco Rd because the bond investors require them to guarantee a return on their investment. But we don’t know because TxDOT is keeping it SECRET!
 
“The public and even public officials are being kept in the dark on critical financial terms in the 281 toll study. This is an assault on open government!” cries Terri Hall, Founder and Director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF).
 
Here’s a sampling of vital information that we don’t know:
1.    Is there anything that could make the annual toll rate increase at a rate higher than CPI (like higher cost of construction or high gas prices)?

2.    How much traffic will divert from the tollway onto neighborhood streets to avoid paying tolls thereby increasing traffic, putting the safety of neighborhood streets in jeopardy, and increasing the cost of road maintenance for the City or County?

3.    Where are the entrances and exits to the tollway so a person can calculate how many fees or other hidden costs add to the cost per mile?

4.    Is the tollway feasible with gas prices at or above $3 a gallon (as other studies have concluded)?

5.    And most importantly, will the bond investors require a non-compete agreement that would prevent any new roads or the expansion of existing roads near the 281 tollway, like Bulverde Rd., Red Land Rd., Stone Oak Pkwy., and Blanco Rd.?


On October 17, TURF did an Open Records request to see the 281 market value and toll feasibility studies performed by TxDOT and the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (ARMA). The Governor’s counterfeit toll moratorium bill, SB 792, includes a nice wide-open loophole [SUBCHAPTER B. OVERSIGHT Sec.A371.051.10 (d)] for TxDOT to leap through to make these financial studies perpetual “draft” documents so they don’t have to release them to the public until after the bonds are sold and contracts signed. This language appears to apply only to private toll contracts, but TxDOT is invoking it for a public toll project!

 
“TxDOT wants to have it both ways. They’re asking the MPO to vote on the ‘final’ toll rates but conveniently call the document ‘draft’ to keep the financial guts SECRET,” notes Hall. “This maneuver now enshrined in law isn’t government in the sunshine, and refusing to disclose vital tax information prior to a vote for final approval is malfeasance, plain and simple!”

In SB 792 under SUBCHAPTER D. Sec.A371.151, DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION, it requires public hearings disclosing financial information on all toll projects, and the only hearing the Alamo RMA is holding is on December 10 at Barbara Bush Middle School (“to transfer the project from TxDOT to the RMA,” but no mention of financial disclosure, AFTER the MPO December 3 vote to approve the terms.

“The taxpayers are being had! The purpose of this provision in the law, which we testified in favor of, is to allow for full disclosure, transparency, and a chance for the taxpayers to weigh in BEFORE any final decisions are made,” Hall voices.

TxDOT SHROUDED IN SECRECY
Then, State Representative Nathan Macias whose district is affected by converting 281 into a tollway, asked for the 281 studies. TxDOT also refused to give the studies to Rep. Macias UNLESS HE SIGNS A CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT! This means the Legislature approved a bill, SB 792, at the behest of the Governor and special interests that prohibits a public servant from getting access to information on a tax hike prior to a contract being signed and let [SUBCHAPTER B. OVERSIGHT Sec.A371.051.10 (d)]. What happened to open government! If he or any other elected official were to sign a confidentiality agreement, he cannot share any of the information in the toll studies with ANYONE, including the press, his constituents, other legislators or the MPO Board members! This provision also seems to contradict the financial disclosure section of the same bill, SB 792.

Ironically, Rep. Macias is the one who tried to strip this problematic language from SB 792 (after we brought it to his attention for this precise reason, knowing TxDOT would use it to keep more document SECRET), only to have it thrown in his face when he tried to get access to toll tax information prior to any final decisions being made.

IN THE DARK
The MPO Board is being asked to approve the market value study and toll rate formulas on December 3 without knowing ANYTHING other than what the RMA or TxDOT has told them in a 10 minute briefing.
 
“We all know how horrifically the public has been betrayed regarding toll rates and financing to date, so this ‘trust me’ is certain to have a BIG FAT GOTCHA for politicians and taxpayers just around the corner! How can a SINGLE ELECTED OFFICIAL sign-off on anything while still being in the dark and prevented from openly discussing any toll tax variables, especially whether or not the City or County can expand nearby streets? Make no mistake, the taxpayers will be fleeced or forced onto congested surface streets if the MPO Board approves this plan,” predicts Hall.

Oil price hits 1980 high, toll roads no longer financially viable

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oil price hits 1980 high, toll roads no longer financially viable

TURF will work to NIX toll roads from State’s plans


San Antonio, TX, November 1, 2007 – Oil prices have soared to new highs closing at $96 a barrel yesterday, which will not only wreak havoc on the global economy, but also could signal the end to the push for toll roads. According to Vollmer Associates in a toll feasibility study for two tollways in Austin (read about it here), once oil hits the price equivalent to the crisis of 1980, the toll roads studied are no longer financially viable. The Associated Press article says $96 a barrel is on par with the oil crisis of 1980. TOLL ROADS ARE NO LONGER FINANCIALLY DO-ABLE! Not enough motorists will be able to afford to use toll roads with gas prices at or over $3 a gallon with no end in sight.

“We’ve been sounding this alarm for years, and now the reality of ghastly expensive oil is setting in for the long haul. It’s time to pull the plug on toll roads. Motorists are feeling the squeeze at the pump and there won’t be enough extra in the family budget to pay for tolls all over Texas freeways,” notes Terri Hall, Founder/Director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (or TURF).

“Continuing the push for new toll taxes is not only foolish but certain to bring financial disaster to the State and hence the taxpayers who will have to bail out these failed toll roads which will likely bankrupt the next generation. There won’t be enough political cover if politicians allow this to happen,” Hall warns.

“Politicians have tried their best to create a congestion crisis, but the Federal Highway Administration’s statistics show that traffic has not grown since 2005 despite increases in population. Driving stats have been flat since the steady rise in the price of gasoline started in 2005. So once again, taxpayers have been misled, but the jig is up and it’s time for real leadership in order to bring other transportation solutions to the table. Simply continuing down the path of "maxing out" the proverbial bond debt credit card with taxpayers as collateral is dangerous. Toll roads are both a political and financial LOSER,” comments Hall.

Link to AP story on oil prices topping $96 a barrel here .

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TURF sues SAMPO for unconstitutional composition & actions

TURF to sue transportation board for equal protection
MPO Board composition violates First and 14th Amendments to U.S. Constitution

San Antonio, TX, Monday, October 22, 2007 – In what could change the way toll roads are decided and approved in Bexar County, TURF filed a NEW lawsuit in FEDERAL COURT to put the power over transportation decisions back in the hands of the PEOPLE. TURF recently scored a victory in STATE COURT in a different lawsuit against members of the Texas Transportation Department and Transportation Commission.

A lawsuit has been brought against the San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization (SAMPO) Transportation Policy Board that allocates tax dollars to transportation projects and approves toll rates and toll projects and San Antonio Councilwoman and MPO Chair Sheila McNeil. The lawsuit alleges that the composition of the SAMPO Board is unconstitutional and Chairwoman McNeil has been a party to denying the First Amendment right of free speech to the constituents of elected MPO Board members like State Representative David Leibowitz by blocking an agenda item and any debate on an issue brought up at his request. This novel lawsuit cuts to the heart of how toll roads are approved.

It’s based upon the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, 28 U.S.C. §1331, and 28 U.S.C. §§1343(3) and (4). The section of the post-Civil War civil rights enactments codified as 42 U.S.C. §1983 provides the Plaintiff’s enabling cause of action. A faction of governmental officials with the help of unelected board members have shut citizens and voters who oppose toll roads out of equal participation in the political process. The case will also argue that actions like Chairwoman McNeil’s removal of an agenda item asking for the funds TxDOT is spending on the Keep Texas Moving ad campaign be returned to building roads.



By way of recent example, in a SAMPO Transportation Policy Board meeting of September 24, 2007, Defendant McNeil, using the badge of authority of Chairmanship of the Board, arbitrarily removed from the meeting agenda a motion by State Representative and MPO Board member David Leibowitz calling for SAMPO to object to certain expenditures of public money by TXDOT promoting toll roads, which expenditures Representative Leibowitz believed to be inappropriate.

Defendant McNeil, acting under color of law, removed Representative Leibowitz’s motion from the meeting agenda even though Representative Leibowitz had properly and legitimately placed it on the meeting agenda and SAMPO had included it in the public posting of the agenda pursuant to the Texas Open Meetings Act. Defendant McNeil, acting under color of law, refused to permit Representative Leibowitz to present his motion because of her disfavor of his attempt to provide a voice for his constituents who oppose turning free public highways into toll roads.

TURF will be asking for both a temporary and permanent injunction to suspend ALL activities of the MPO until the case is decided and the Board’s composition is changed to reflect proper Constitutional representation allowing equal protection under the law per the 14th Amendment.

The unconstitutional MPO has blocked agenda items, voted against an independent review of toll plans that would bring accountability to the gross misuse of taxpayer money in these toll plans, voted against restoring the gas tax funded overpasses on 281 (281 in particular DOES NOT NEED TO BE TOLLED, what’s needed are overpasses and they’ve been paid for since 2003, the money is STILL there, they could do it tomorrow, but this un-Constitutional Board persists in preventing the simple solution that’s already paid for!

The MPO Board has also delayed votes, blocked the succession of the next Chair, and changed the bylaws to allow yet more illegal representation on the Board.

“The people of Texas are FED-UP with out-of-control abusive government. We’ve done everything in our power to exert the political pressure to change this unconstitutional Board, but when the deck is stacked and a powerful unelected voting block is allowed to persist unchecked, we have no choice but go to court to address our grievances. This is taxation without representation and we cannot and will not allow it to continue,” says Terri Hall, Founder and Director of TURF.

TURF to announce a NEW lawsuit

PRESS ADVISORY
Press conference Monday at Via Metro Center

San Antonio, TX, Monday, October 22, 2007 – In what could change the way toll roads are decided and approved in Bexar County, TURF will file and announce a NEW lawsuit in FEDERAL COURT to put the power back in the hands of the PEOPLE. TURF recently scored a victory in STATE COURT in a different lawsuit (read about it here) against members of the Texas Transportation Department and Transportation Commission. The lawsuit to be announced Monday is a NEW case that cuts to the heart of how toll roads are approved.

WHAT: Press conference with TURF attorneys announcing lawsuit to bring greater accountability to taxpayers in toll road decisions

WHO: Texas taxpayers through TURF

WHEN: Monday, October 22, 2007@ 1:00 PM

WHERE: Via Metro Center, 1021 San Pedro, San Antonio, Texas

TURF prevails, lawsuit moves forward, allows depositions of TxDOT’s top brass

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

TURF prevails as Judge grants continuance, allows discovery
TURF attorneys may depose top TxDOT officials

Austin, TX – Thursday, October 18, 2007 - In Travis County District Court today, Judge Orlinda Naranjo granted Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) a continuance allowing TURF to move to the discovery phase and depose top Transportation Department (TxDOT) officials, including Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson himself. Allowing discovery is vital for TURF to force TxDOT to hand over key documents that they’ve been withholding via Open Records requests. TURF is seeking to immediately halt the illegal advertising campaign and lobbying by TxDOT (read petition here).

The State was attempting to throw us out of court with their favorite “get out of jail free” card (called the plea to the jurisdiction), but TURF’s attorneys, Charlie Riley, David Van Os, and Andrew Hawkins outmaneuvered Attorney General counsel Kristina Silcocks to file a motion for a continuance to allow TURF to move to the discovery phase to gather evidence to show TxDOT’s top brass broke the law with the Keep Texas Moving (KTM) ad campaign and lobbying Congress to buyback interstates.

“This is a great victory for Texas taxpayers!” an elated Terri Hall, TURF’s Founder and Executive Director proclaimed. “This egregious misuse of $9 million of taxpayer money by a rogue government agency is one MAJOR step closer to being stopped.”

The tide seemed to turn when Riley showed the affidavit by TxDOT’s Helen Havelka was false. TURF uncovered this August 13, 2007 memo by Coby Chase (read it here) through an Open Records request showing the Keep Texas Moving campaign was not over and in fact it has multiple phases planned with the next one fashioned to influence the upcoming Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) hearings planned for early 2008.

With a clear attempt to mislead the court by causing Judge Naranjo and the public to believe the KTM Campaign was over when in fact it isn’t, the State’s credibility and case went downhill from there.

“I wonder what TxDOT’s top brass is saying tonight as they’re being informed they’ve now been added as defendants and may be deposed under oath about their lobbying and ad campaign activities,” pondered Hall. “My guess is the phones are ringing and the paper shredders may just get fired-up."

This lawsuit is brought pursuant to § 37, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. TxDOT’s expenditure of public funds for the Keep Texas Moving campaign is illegal, and an injunction prohibiting any further illegal expenditures in this regard.TxDOT has violated § 556.004 of the Texas Government Code by directing the expenditure of public funds for political advocacy in support of toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor, and have directly lobbied the United States Congress in favor of additional toll road programs as evidenced in its report, Forward Momentum.

On Monday, September 24, Judge Naranjo did not initially grant a temporary restraining order (TRO). TxDOT unearthed a law that says they can advertise toll roads (Sec 228.004 of Transportation Code) and the citizens invoked another that says they can’t (Chapter 556, Texas Government Code). The burden to obtain a TRO is higher than for an injunction.

“TxDOT is waging a one-sided political ad campaign designed to sway public opinion in favor of the policy that puts money in TxDOT’s own coffers. School Boards cannot lobby in favor of their own bond elections, and yet TxDOT cites its own special law to line their own pockets at taxpayers’ expense,” says an incredulous Terri Hall, Founder/Director of TURF.

Hall also notes that TxDOT’s campaign goes beyond mere advertising, “It’s propaganda and in some cases, the ads blatantly lie to the public! In one radio ad, scroll down to radio ad “continuing maintenance”), it claims it’s not signing contracts with non-compete agreements in them and yet last March TxDOT inked a deal with Cintra-Zachry for SH 130 (read about it here) that had a non-compete clause (which either prohibits or financially punishes the State for building competing infrastructure with a toll road).”

On August 22, 2007, TURF filed a formal complaint with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to investigate TxDOT’s illegal lobbying and asked him to prosecute TxDOT for criminal wrongdoing. See the formal complaint here. The petition seeks immediate injunctive relief in a civil proceeding.

Amended petition

Motion for continuance

Request for production

Supplemental affidavit

Response to plea to the jurisdiction

-30-
The tide seemed to turn when Riley showed the affidavit by TxDOT’s Helen Havelka was false. TURF uncovered this August 13, 2007 memo by Coby Chase (read it here) through an Open Records request showing the Keep Texas Moving campaign was not over and in fact it has multiple phases planned with the next one fashioned to influence the upcoming Trans Texas Corridor TTC-69 NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) hearings planned for early 2008.

With a clear attempt to mislead the court by causing Judge Naranjo and the public to believe the KTM Campaign was over when in fact it isn’t, the State’s credibility and case went downhill from there.

“I wonder what TxDOT’s top brass is saying tonight as they’re being informed they’ve now been added as defendants and may be deposed under oath about their lobbying and ad campaign activities,” pondered Hall. “My guess is the phones are ringing and the paper shredders may just get fired-up."

This lawsuit is brought pursuant to § 37, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. TxDOT’s expenditure of public funds for the Keep Texas Moving campaign is illegal, and an injunction prohibiting any further illegal expenditures in this regard.TxDOT has violated § 556.004 of the Texas Government Code by directing the expenditure of public funds for political advocacy in support of toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor, and have directly lobbied the United States Congress in favor of additional toll road programs as evidenced in its report, Forward Momentum.

On Monday, September 24, Judge Naranjo did not initially grant a temporary restraining order (TRO). TxDOT unearthed a law that says they can advertise toll roads (Sec 228.004 of Transportation Code) and the citizens invoked another that says they can’t (Chapter 556, Texas Government Code). The burden to obtain a TRO is higher than for an injunction.

“TxDOT is waging a one-sided political ad campaign designed to sway public opinion in favor of the policy that puts money in TxDOT’s own coffers. School Boards cannot lobby in favor of their own bond elections, and yet TxDOT cites its own special law to line their own pockets at taxpayers’ expense,” says an incredulous Terri Hall, Founder/Director of TURF.

Hall also notes that TxDOT’s campaign goes beyond mere advertising, “It’s propaganda and in some cases, the ads blatantly lie to the public! In one radio ad, scroll down to radio ad “continuing maintenance”), it claims it’s not signing contracts with non-compete agreements in them and yet last March TxDOT inked a deal with Cintra-Zachry for SH 130 (read about it here) that had a non-compete clause (which either prohibits or financially punishes the State for building competing infrastructure with a toll road).”

On August 22, 2007, TURF filed a formal complaint with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to investigate TxDOT’s illegal lobbying and asked him to prosecute TxDOT for criminal wrongdoing. See the formal complaint here. The petition seeks immediate injunctive relief in a civil proceeding.

Updates to TURF’s petition and supplemental affidavits will be posted soon.

Contact info for TURF's attorneys:
Charlie Riley - 210-225-7236
David Van Os - 210-821-1700
Andrew Hawkins - 512-477-2320
David Rogers - 512-301-4097


-30-

SECRET briefing on toll rates for BIG BUSINESS before public gets access

SECRET briefing on toll rates for BIG BUSINESS before public gets access
Private meeting spurs citizens to get a briefing FIRST (TONIGHT @ 6 PM)!

San Antonio, TX, October 16, 2007 – As noted in a front page story in today’s San Antonio Express News, TURF was alerted to a SECRET meeting of a taxpayer-funded coalition of road contractors called the San Antonio Mobility Coalition this Friday, October 19.
 
The San Antonio Mobility Coalition, SAMCo, led by Joe Krier, will be hosting the meeting at the Valero campus. The SAMCo meeting was going to take place prior to even the PUBLIC getting access to toll tax information for Hwy 281 at Monday’s San Antonio Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting October 22.
 
“Citizens have to take time off work and head downtown to a place where parking is scarce (MPO mtgs at Via) just to hear this information on their own dime, yet our public agencies bring this vital toll tax information right to the business community's doorstep while they're all on the clock (some of whom are on the taxpayer's dime, too!),” notes an outraged TURF’s Founder, Terri Hall.
 
“Just like TxDOT’s  taxpayer funded ad campaign to push toll roads, it seems there’s no line these agencies will not cross to get unfettered access to our wallets!” Hall said.

This secret meeting prompted citizens to get an advance briefing of their own tonight at the TURF Meeting.

PRESS ADVISORY –

What: San Antonio TURF Meeting
Where: Chester's Burgers at 16609 San Pedro Ave. (between 410 & 1604), San Antonio
WHEN: 6:00 PM
 

“Government ought to be operating without even the APPEARANCE of impropriety, this SAMCo meeting smacks of corporate cronyism and backroom deal-making which has become the norm with Perry and his highway department,” Hall voiced.
 
Not only will the highway lobby be treated to the potential pricetag road contractors can reap for tolling our public highways, the stated purpose of Friday’s meeting is to strategize on how to influence the upcoming MPO vote that must approve the toll rates to move forward. To quote SAMCO’s invitation:
 
“The purpose of the briefing is to provide:
 
1) An advance preview of the US 281 and Loop 1604 financial plans prior to these critical MPO meetings;
2) A forum to discuss cooperative action and joint strategy to support the financial plans and SMP amendments at the October 22 and December 3 MPO meetings.
3) Coordination of supportive resolutions, letters, emails, testimony, editorials, etc. prior to the final MPO votes.”

Plea to jurisdiction hearing on lawsuit to stop TxDOT lobbying

PRESS ADVISORY

TURF to present NEW evidence 


at today's hearing for lawsuit to STOP TxDOT’s illegal lobbying


In Travis County District Court before Judge Orlinda Naranjo on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 2 PM, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) has asked for a motion to reconsider the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to immediately halt the illegal advertising and lobbying by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) contained in the original petition (see it here) in light of NEW EVIDENCE obtained through the Public Information Act.

An August 13, 2007 memorandum (see it here) by Defendant Coby Chase confirms that TxDOT intends to spend public money for the political purpose of influencing upcoming public hearings for Trans Texas Corridor 69, and that the Keep Texas Moving campaign will continue into 2008.

TURF's attorneys Charlie Riley, David Van Os, and Andrew Hawkins have also asked for a continuance of the hearing for today’s scheduled plea to the jurisdiction since TxDOT has failed and refused to provide all documents responsive to Plaintiff’s Public Information Act Request, thus preventing the opportunity to conduct written discovery and depositions.

WHO: Texas taxpayers through TURF
WHAT: Lawsuit seeking injunction to halt TxDOT’s taxpayer-funded illegal ad campaign & lobbying activities
WHEN: Thursday, October 18, 2007@ 2 PM
WHERE: Travis County District Court before Judge Orlinda Naranjo, 1000 Guadalupe, Austin, Texas
HOW: The press needs to register request for cameras in the courtroom in advance through the court clerk. Contact Warren Vavra at (512) 854-9093 for more information.

This lawsuit is brought pursuant to § 37, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. TxDOT’s expenditure of public funds for the Keep Texas Moving campaign is illegal, and an injunction prohibiting any further illegal expenditures in this regard.
TxDOT has violated § 556.004 of the Texas Government Code by directing the expenditure of public funds for political advocacy in support of toll roads and the Trans Texas Corridor, and have directly lobbied the United States Congress in favor of additional toll road programs as evidenced in its report, Forward Momentum.

On Monday, September 24, Judge Orlinda Naranjo did not grant a temporary restraining order (TRO). TxDOT unearthed a law that says they can advertise toll roads (Sec 228.004 of Transportation Code) and the citizens invoked another that says they can’t (Chapter 556, Texas Government Code). The burden to obtain a TRO is higher than for an injunction.

“TxDOT is waging a one-sided political ad campaign designed to sway public opinion in favor of the policy that puts money in TxDOT’s own coffers. School Boards cannot lobby in favor of their own bond elections, and yet TxDOT cites its own special law to line their own pockets at taxpayers’ expense,” says an incredulous Terri Hall, Founder/Director of TURF.

Hall also notes that TxDOT’s campaign goes beyond mere advertising, “It’s propaganda and in some cases, the ads blatantly lie to the public! In one radio ad (http://www.keeptexasmoving.com/index.php/stay_informed, scroll down to radio ad “continuing maintenance”), it claims it’s not signing contracts with non-compete agreements in them and yet last March TxDOT inked a deal with Cintra-Zachry for SH 130 (read about it here) that had a non-compete clause (which either prohibits or financially punishes the State for building competing infrastructure with a toll road).”

On August 22, 2007, TURF filed a formal complaint with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to investigate TxDOT’s illegal lobbying and asked him to prosecute TxDOT for criminal wrongdoing. See the formal complaint here . The petition before the court today seeks immediate injunctive relief in a civil proceeding.

Updates to TURF’s petition and supplemental affidavits will be posted soon.
-30-

On Monday, September 24, Judge Orlinda Naranjo did not grant a temporary restraining order (TRO). TxDOT unearthed a law that says they can advertise toll roads (Sec 228.004 of Transportation Code) and the citizens invoked another that says they can’t (Chapter 556, Texas Government Code). The burden to obtain a TRO is higher than for an injunction.
 
“TxDOT is waging a one-sided political ad campaign designed to sway public opinion in favor of the policy that puts money in TxDOT’s own coffers. School Boards cannot lobby in favor of their own bond elections, and yet TxDOT cites its own special law to line their own pockets at taxpayers’ expense,” says an incredulous Terri Hall, Founder/Director of TURF.
 
Hall also notes that TxDOT’s campaign goes beyond mere advertising, “It’s propaganda and in some cases, the ads blatantly lie to the public! In one radio ad (scroll down to radio ad “continuing maintenance”), it claims it’s not signing contracts with non-compete agreements in them and yet last March TxDOT inked a deal with Cintra-Zachry for SH 130 (read about it here.) that had a non-compete clause (which either prohibits or financially punishes the State for building competing infrastructure with a toll road).”

On August 22, 2007, TURF filed a formal complaint with Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle to investigate TxDOT’s illegal lobbying and asked him to prosecute TxDOT for criminal wrongdoing. See the formal complaint here. The petition seeks immediate injunctive relief in a civil proceeding.
-30-

No restraining order, but case to STOP TxDOT's lobbying moves forward

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

No restraining order issued

Hearing on injunction still to come


Monday, September 24, 2007 – In Travis County District Court today, Judge Orlinda Naranjo did not grant a temporary restraining order (TRO) to immediately halt the Texas Department of Transportation’s Keep Texas Moving ad campaign. TxDOT unearthed a law that says they can advertise toll roads (Sec 228.004 of Transportation Code) and the citizens invoked another that says they can’t (Chapter 556, Texas Government Code). TURF and its Founder Terri Hall, sought a temporary restraining order against the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to stop its political advertising and lobbying, but the burden to obtain a TRO is higher than for an injunction.

The defendants counsel in the Attorney General’s office, Kristina Silcocks, presented no evidence and was unprepared to argue potential damages to the State if a TRO was granted. Judge Naranjo seemed incredulous at such a shoddy case, but not incredulous enough to grant the TRO.

“The citizens will fight on. TxDOT is waging a one-sided political ad campaign designed to sway public opinion in favor of the policy that puts money in TxDOT’s own coffers. School Boards cannot lobby in favor of their own bond elections, and yet TxDOT has its own special law that may allow them to get away with such a blatant conflict of interest,” says an incredulous Hall.

Hall also notes that TxDOT’s campaign goes beyond mere advertising, “It’s propaganda and in some cases, the ads blatantly lie to the public! In one radio ad (scroll down to radio ad “continuing maintenance”), it claims it’s not signing contracts with non-compete agreements in them and yet last March TxDOT inked a deal with Cintra-Zachry for SH 130 (read about it here.) that had a non-compete clause (which either prohibits or financially punishes the State for building competing infrastructure with a toll road).”

The next step is a hearing on the State’s plea to the jurisdiction, likely to happen next week. Then if TURF gets past that hurdle, a hearing for the injunction will be set.

TURF will keep the press advised as to the next hearing date.

-30-

Subcategories

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Texas State Wide

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