By
Ben Wear |
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 The AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Shine your shoes and haul out a clean shirt, TxDOT. The
Legislature wants to see you on Feb. 5. All day.
The Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee
and the Senate Finance Committee have called what
would be a very rare joint meeting at 9 a.m. Feb. 5.
The meeting would be in the Finance Committee’s meeting room in the
Capital Extension, E1.036.
The subject: “The Texas Department of
Transportation’s 2008-09 appropriations.” Translated, that means, we
want to pin you down and find if you really and truly are suddenly
out of money. TxDOT shook up the Texas transportation world,
and quite a few powerful legislators, over the past two months by
suddenly cutting money for project engineering and right of way and
announcing it will award no new road construction contracts after
Feb. 1. Frankly, a lot of lawmakers think TxDOT is
playing politics with its books.
After these two committees are through, probably around noon,
then the Legislative Study Committee on Private
Participation in Toll Projects (called the CDA committee or
792 committee informally) will meet at 1 p.m. in the same
room. That committee, which
includes three appointees each by Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov.
David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick, was created by SB 792
and told to look at the private toll road contracts that stirred up
the Legislature last year. This is that committee’s first meeting.
Meanwhile, TxDOT is under review by the Sunset Advisory Committee
as well.
Better get a couple of clean shirts. And maybe some underwear as
well.
Committee Information:
| Senate Members:
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House Members:
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Public Members:
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http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/research/interim/chargesDisplay.cfm?cmteID=9830&s=FALSE
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Committee Charges:
1. The legislative study committee shall
select a presiding officer from among its members and
conduct public hearings and study the public policy
implications of including in a comprehensive development
agreement entered into by a toll project entity with a
private participant in connection with a toll project a
provision that permits the private participant to
operate and collect revenue from the toll project. In
addition, the committee shall examine the public policy
implications of selling an existing and operating toll
project to a private entity.
Not later than December 1, 2008, the legislative study
committee shall:
(1) prepare a written report summarizing:
(A) any hearings conducted by the committee;
(B) any legislation proposed by the committee;
(C) the committee's recommendations for safeguards and
protections of the public's interest when a contract for the
sale of a toll project to a private entity is entered into;
and
(D) any other findings or recommendations of the
committee; and
(2) deliver a copy of the report to the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives.
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Note:
Created pursuant to SB 792, 80th Legislature.
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