Anti-toll road activist loses court round

09/24/2007

Peggy Fikac, Express-News Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — A San Antonio activist lost a court round Monday in her effort to stop state transportation officials from spending public funds to promote toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor, but the fight’s not over.

State District Judge Orlinda Naranjo refused to grant a temporary restraining order to immediately stop the spending as sought in a petition by Terri Hall of the San Antonio Toll Party and Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom.

Another hearing is expected as early as next week on a state motion to dismiss the case, which targets both the multimillion-dollar Keep Texas Moving campaign and any attempt by transportation officials to convince Congress to allow more tolling, such as a proposal on potentially tolling interstates.

"This is just round one. This issue is definitely not over," said Hall, contending that transportation officials in promoting the divisive initiatives are violating a ban on using their authority for political purposes and on lobbying.

Naranjo noted another law cited by the state specifically allows the Texas Department of Transportation to promote the development and use of toll projects. The state has said the Keep Texas Moving campaign is meant to provide information to the public as demanded by state lawmakers.

"It seems that the Legislature has weighed in and given the department the authority to promote toll roads," Naranjo said in denying the request for a temporary restraining order. Such an order is meant to maintain the status quo until a full hearing in a case.

As the legal proceedings continue, Hall’s side will seek to show transportation officials’ actions go beyond what’s allowed in the law.

"We’re confident that as the facts come out, they’re going to show that TxDOT is using public money for a political purpose, not just for providing information about toll roads," said Hall’s lawyer, Charles Riley of San Antonio.

At the upcoming hearing on the state’s motion to dismiss the case, Riley said the case will be kept alive if the judge agrees Hall’s allegations raise a question about whether transportation officials are violating the law.

The state attorney general’s office, representing the transportation officials, referred questions to TxDOT, where spokesman Chris Lippincott said he had no comment beyond his response last week to the court filing.

In that earlier statement, Lippincott said, "For quite some time now, TxDOT has heard calls from elected leaders and the driving public to explain what we are doing to improve mobility in our state and why we are doing it. The ‘Keep Texas Moving’ public involvement campaign is an effort to engage Texans on these issues and seek their participation in solving some of our state's most serious problems. It’s not possible to meet our state's transportation goals without public awareness and public involvement."