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Waller County CITIZENS..
In the category of WALLER County
EYES W...I...D...E
OPEN:
IF Information is
better than surprises...
We would be wise to pay some
attention to this neighbor organization's perspective. IF
HCTRA attains a RMA status.. guess who is already "in
the line of fire"?? ... Waller County
Below is a perspective from
that Harris County organization: about HCTRA,
RMAs, TTC opponents, and
"considerations, motives, shortcomings" and 3 specific
RECOMMENDATIONS...
A bill which seeks to broaden
the Harris County Toll Road
Authority (HCTRA)'s powers as a
Regional Mobility Authority (RMA),
HB 1892, passed the House last week
with more than 120 votes in favor and only 2 votes against. (It
caught us off guard since it came through the County Affairs
committee instead of Transportation.) However, the energy behind
it seems to relate more to the Kolkhurst amendment -- which places a
two-year moratorium on Comprehensive Development Agreement (CDAs or
public-private partnerships) -- which was attached to it prior
to passage than to 1892 itself.
Our
problem (www.ctchouston.org)
is that the underlying bill
moves Harris County further away from
tollroad accountability.
Supporters of the CDA moratorium, an anti-Trans-Texas Corridor
measure, are pushing to get HB 1892 passed through the Senate as
quickly as possible. The
Senate Transportation & Homeland Security
Committee has scheduled HB1892 for a
public hearing this Wed Apr 18 at 7:30 am in Austin.
Senator Rodney Ellis, who
represents many Houston and Harris County neighborhoods that will be
affected by HCTRA's upcoming projects, is a member of the Senate
Transportation committee. CTC has an opportunity to inform Senator
Ellis about the widespread support for our
toll accountability resolution,
and ask him to introduce an amendment that would require HCTRA to
provide public notice, public meetings, and conduct full
environmental reviews of all toll-funded projects.
But with HB 1892, the prospect of
more accountability for HCTRA is being steamrolled by anti-TransTexas
Corridor sentiment.
HB 1892 had a public hearing in the Texas Senate this afternoon.
CorridorWatch,
which is focused on getting a moratorium against the Trans-Texas
Corridor, is saying they support HB 1892, which is the underlying
HCTRA RMA bill to which the moratorium was amended. CorridorWatch
asked their 10,000 plus members to call these four members of the
Senate Transportation Committee:
Senator Ellis - 512.463.0113
Senator Shapiro - 512.463.0108
Senator Shapleigh - 512.463.0129
Senator Wentworth - 512.463.0125
However, those of us who live and/or
work in Harris County, still need HB 1892 to include some
protections for us.
We need the Senate to amend HB 1892 to make Harris County Toll Road
projects more accountable
to the public. We should focus on the
senators who represent Harris County:
RECOMMENDATIONS: Let them know
that independent of the CDA moratorium,
you have
concerns about HB 1892. Please ask them to
help require HCTRA to:
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