Senate takes a detour in transportation fight

The approved bill still includes a moratorium, but exempts some areas and projects

May 15, 2007

By GARY SCHARRER, Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — Trying to avoid a confrontation with the governor, the Texas Senate voted unanimously Monday for another transportation bill that preserves a two-year moratorium on most private toll roads.

Senate Bill 792 also satisfies Gov. Rick Perry's concerns in another transportation bill sitting on his desk that he plans to veto because, he contends, it transfers too much road-building authority from the state to local communities.

Power struggle

Without an alternative transportation bill, lawmakers would likely try to override Perry's veto, creating a power struggle not seen since 1979 when legislators voted to override a veto by then-Gov. Bill Clements.

"There's a lot of blood that would be spilled over a veto override," said Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, author of SB 792.

The private toll road moratorium would not apply to major projects already planned in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth areas.

The Houston-area Grand Parkway and a proposed I-69 project from Corpus Christi to Brownsville also would be exempted from the moratorium.

The new legislation, which requires approval by the state House, would create a new "market valuation" approach for planning and building roads.

"It's a concept to determine the value of a project and what free roads might be built as a result of a toll project," Williams said. "The purpose of a market valuation is to establish a benchmark for what the project is worth and to then determine whether this toll project can also support free roads in the region."

A wary House

The Texas Department of Transportation and local agencies would have to agree on the terms and conditions for the development, construction and operation of the toll project.

The latest transportation bill could run into a wary House chamber.

"I don't think any of us have seen it. I don't know what kind of reception it will get," said. Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, author of the moratorium on private toll roads.

The compromise legislation passed by the Senate represents an agreement between senators, the governor and state highway officials.

"Everybody says it's 'agreed upon,' but I didn't really see any House members in that meeting," Kolkhorst said.

Perry called the measure "a good compromise that allows projects important to local communities to go forward, recognizing that Texas is a fast-growing state with real congestion concerns that cannot be put on hold."

The governor has threatened to summon lawmakers back to a special session this summer if they fail to produce a transportation bill that is acceptable to him.

"Nobody wants to come back down here for a special session," Williams said.