AUSTIN -- Warning that North Texas and other areas of the state will be "dead in the water" if a sweeping transportation measure finds its way into the law books, several local elected officials urged Gov. Rick Perry on Friday to veto the legislation and force lawmakers back to the drawing board.

"If [House Bill 1892] becomes law in its present form, my county and Texas will have less money to spend on needed road projects, more construction delays and new hardships when working on regional transportation solutions," Denton County Judge Mary Horn said.

Horn was among a half-dozen officials invited to use Perry's news conference room at the Capitol to denounce the legislation, which passed both houses by wide margins despite strong opposition from the governor. Perry did not attend the news conference, and his spokesman said that no decision had been made on whether the bill would be vetoed.

A possible showdown

Even though Horn and others made clear that they expected Perry to veto the measure and risk an almost certain override by the Legislature, key lawmakers were working to avoid a showdown.

At issue in the measure, which would impose a two-year moratorium on most new private toll roads, is a provision that Perry and other critics of the bill say would derail funding for much-needed North Texas road projects such as the North Tarrant Express and the planned improved link of Texas 121 that connects downtown Fort Worth to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, and other lawmakers were working with Perry's staff to recraft legislation that would alleviate the concerns of the governor and the local officials while maintaining the Legislature's position that toll road construction must be slowed.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Senate's presiding officer, said he hopes a compromise can be reached by early next week.

But he also insisted that despite the dire forecasts from the local leaders at the news conference, the bill lawmakers sent to the governor will not undermine the state's efforts to build the roads needed to handle ever-increasing traffic congestion in urban centers.

"I think that they are overreacting," Dewhurst said. "The Legislature wants to build more roads. ... The Senate just passed out legislation last week which would authorize $5 billion more of general obligation bonds to build highways."

Private toll roads

But the local officials are upset with the way the transportation bill would affect deals in the works with private toll road developers. They said that development agreements with private companies that are in the planning stages should be allowed to continue.

The provision that limits contracts with private companies to 40 years should be extended to 50 years, they said.

Without an extension, local leaders say, improvements to the Tower 55 rail intersection in central Fort Worth and the Loop 9 road project in south Dallas will be delayed. Private companies generally don't make much if any profit in the first 40 years of a deal, industry experts say.

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