Bohac Coauthors Bill to Halt Trans-Texas Corridor

AUSTIN - State Representative Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, co-authored House Bill 2772 last week that puts a two year hold on the Trans-Texas Corridor and allows the legislature to study the way the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) handles all toll roads.

“I believe that the responsible course of action is to take a fresh look at the Trans-Texas Corridor and the policies that allow TXDOT to build private toll roads,” Bohac said. “It is a wise idea to slow this process down and take another look at all the details before we commit to 50 years of tolls.”

House Bill 2772, authored by Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham and the accompanying Senate Bill’s 1267 and 1268, by Senator Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, establish a 24-month moratorium on the privatization of all toll road projects in the state including the sale of current toll roads to private interests.

Bohac highlighted several issues he has with TXDOT’s toll policies that include tolling existing freeways, the ownership of toll roads by private foreign companies and portions of non-compete clauses that would require the state to pay private toll operators for traffic diverted from toll roads because of free state roads.

“There are a lot of details about the toll roads that are just now coming to light and frankly some of them are disturbing,” Bohac said. “I don’t think that the state of Texas should be in the business of taking farm and ranch land by eminent domain so that a foreign company can make money off of our taxpayers.”

The bills also call for a study committee with three appointees from the Senate and three appointees from the House to report back to the legislature.

”We must closely evaluate private toll contracts before we sign away half a century of control of our transportation system,” said Nichols, a former state transportation commissioner. “Many provisions in recent toll contracts are alarming.”

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