Nichols' Bill: State Needs To Yield On Toll Road Plans Sen. Robert Nichols

April 5, 2007

By ROY MAYNARD, Staff Writer, TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH

Just one day after Gov. Rick Perry spoke out against it, a bill enacting a two-year moratorium on private toll road projects roared out of a Texas Senate committee.

The bill, authored by Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, appears to be on track for sure approval in both the Senate and the House - 27 of the 31 senators have signed onto SB 1267 as co-authors, and the House version is co-sponsored by 111 of the 150 members of that chamber.

The bill puts the brakes on toll road contracts and establishes a committee to study the long-term effects of the agreements.

"We don't have the luxury of time," Nichols said. "If we wait too long, these contracts will be signed and Texas will be trapped in agreements that will hold our transportation system hostage for the next half century."

The bill emerged with minor amendments that allow for some exemptions, such as roads for which the Texas Department of Transportation has already issued Requests for Qualifications, and for managed lane projects being added to existing roads. And county commissioners must approve all such projects.

"There are local entities eager to build these projects and use revenues to directly benefit the area," Nichols said. "(But) taxpayers should ask themselves if their roads should be for the good of citizens or the benefit of shareholders."

On Tuesday, Perry said the state's current transportation system, which involves public-private partnerships to build toll roads, needs to continue if Texas is to keep attracting big companies and jobs.

"Building needed infrastructure is essential to creating jobs and attracting economic development investments in Texas," Perry told reporters. "And you can't accomplish that with a two-year moratorium on needed road projects."

But Nichols, a former member of the Texas Transportation Commission, said he has three concerns with toll contracts: clauses that prohibit "competition" from the state, in the form of new roads or improvements to current roads; the ability of private firms to increase toll rates; and the lack of a formula for determining the cost should the state want to "buy back" the road.

The Senate bill is SB 1267; the House version is HB 2772.

Although the measure is supported by upwards of two-thirds of both chambers, an effective veto is still possible depending on when the bill reaches the governor's desk. If there is some procedural delay, Perry could veto the measure as late as June when the Legislature could no longer respond. The Legislature's last day is May 28.

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