With only a couple of weeks left in the session, lawmakers are rushing to put through legislation that eventually could cost taxpayers billions of dollars. One bill that passed the House and is pending in the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee is a very brief piece of legislation, HB 3747, that would allow TxDot to use money from the general fund for the Texas Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund.
The rail relocation effort is part of TxDot’s grand scheme to build the Trans-Texas Corridor, which is actually a network of super-highways that will have lanes for cars, trucks, trains, pipelines, and other infrastructure. The Legislature has not yet capitalized the rail relocation fund, which was approved by voters in 2005.
The current House appropriations bill contains a one-time payment of $150 million to TxDot, which will allow the agency to begin laying the groundwork for public-private partnerships with railroad companies and other corporations. But that’s just the beginning of what could be a flood of money from state coffers.
TxDot has identified $17.4 billion in needed rail projects across Texas. Even industry insiders have described some of these rail projects as “pure pork,” which will require huge amounts of debt and taxpayer-funded subsidies. In its analysis, the House Research Organization quoted opponents as saying,
”At a time when the Legislature has expressed concerns about TxDot’s decisions and funding priorities, especially those involving participation in partnerships with private enterprise, it would be unwise to allow TxDot to create its own rules for spending money and deeming eligibility of projects. The state should not spend public dollars on projects that benefit private companies, and this bill would provide no safeguard against that possibility.”
Read other articles on Rail Relocation in the Texas Observer
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