Get Ready; We Smell a Veto
Every day we
see more signs that the Governor
plans to veto HB1892 - Thereby
killing the CDA moratorium along
with other controls it puts on TxDOT.
Can HB1892 remain veto
proof?
It's far from automatic, but yes it
can stay veto proof.
Overcoming a veto will require
another vote in both houses of the
legislature. At least 21 Senators
and 100 Representatives must vote to
overturn the veto upon the bills
reconsideration. Any less in either
house and the veto sticks and the
bill dies.
Some political insiders are already
predicting that the legislature will
fold under the Governors' pressure.
We give them more credit, but only
if citizens like you give them the
encouragement and support they need.
All Ayes focus on the
Senate.
Sustaining a veto is a simple
numbers game. In the Senate
those numbers are smaller and
the Governor has a four vote
head start towards the eleven
Nay votes he will need to kill
HB1892. We must fight as hard to
keep our support as the Governor
will fight to tear it down.
Legal opinions are just
that, opinions.
Watch for the Governor to claim
legal issues require him to veto
HB1892. Others say hogwash.
TxDOT and the Federal Highway
Administration are working overtime
to gin up legal objections to the
moratorium bill. Here's a preview of
their claims.
- They will claim that unilateral
county authority creates
"likelihood" of violating federal
regulations.
- They will claim that stopping
TxDOT from blocking county access to
state highways conflicts with
the federal oversight role of TxDOT.
- They will claim that Texas
cannot transfer control of highway
land from TxDOT to a county without
selling it.
As you might expect these legal
challenges are not widely accepted
outside the world of TxDOT. That not
withstanding, TxDOT, the FHWA and
the Governor hope they can create
enough smoke to obscure the real
impact of HB1892.
U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
has already called on the Federal
Highway Administration to remove the
cloud over this legislation. [letter]
Don't get distracted by the
legal smoke screen.
Misinformation and
misdirection.
Have you heard that HB1892 won't
effect TTC-35? We have and
that's just a load of baloney.
Although that's what TxDOT told
some CorridorWatch members we
couldn't get them to go on
record with that opinion. If
you've heard TxDOT testifying
before committees this session
you already know they
shamelessly twist, distort and
wildly interpret the law to suit
themselves.
There is no question that it is
the clear legislative intent is
that HB1892 will stop TxDOT from
signing any TTC facility
construction CDAs during the
two-year moratorium. We can
expect TxDOT to search for loop
holes; and, they can equally
expect CorridorWatch to
challenge every attempt to
circumvent the clear intent of
the moratorium.
Bait and switch.
A bill on the desk is worth
two on the calendar.
There are some indications that
Governor Perry may offer his
acceptance of the SB1267 moratorium
bill in exchange for support being
withdrawn from HB1892. Everyone
should understand that would not
be a compromise, it's a surrender.
We need the full range of
protections afforded by HB1892 that
are missing from SB1267. Moreover it
is impossible to take any assurances
that SB1267 would ever become law.
Let's not fall for this ploy. Let's
all just say no and reconfirm our
support for HB1892.
Will Our Senators and
Representatives Continue Standing-Up
For the People of Texas?
With your help we believe they
will.
CorridorWatch will be watching
and reporting.
David & Linda Stall, Co-founders
CorridorWatch.org
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