Nichols parrots Rick Perry's road policy: 'There are no free roads'
He thinks we're stupid - as if Texans aren't aware that there are no free roads. Every time we buy a tank of gas, we're paying a federal and state gasoline tax to build and maintain our public highway system. Sen. Robert Nichols chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and has blocked any anti-toll reform bills, especially taking the toll off the road once the debt is retired. He's fine with perpetual new taxation in the hands of unelected boards, which is squeezing taxpayers right off our public highways. Yet Nichols claims tax money is hard to come by. Really? Texas voters just gave the highway department $5 billion more in NEW tax revenues every year with passage of Prop 1 (2014) and Prop 7 (2015). Let's not forget that legislators have raided our road taxes for non-road purposes for decades, then come crying to us that we're out of money. We're not short of tax money, we're short on holding lawmakers accountable for the taxes we already pay!
Nichols statement is also misleading - as if the user of the road is the one paying for that toll road. Not so -- 100% of toll projects now coming online are paid for in full or in part with your tax money, yet they're still charging you tolls to drive on them. It's a Texas-sized DOUBLE TAX scheme! Nichols is well aware of this, yet he keeps using Rick Perry's tired ol' talking points that there are no free roads when taxpayers are well aware we're paying plenty of taxes for FREEways.
Sen. Robert Nichols says there's no such thing as a 'free road,' all East Texans should care about toll roads
Thursday, August 11, 2016
By Augusta Robinson
Tyler Telegraph
Although Loop 49 may be the only toll road regularly traveled by some East Texans, Texas Senate District 3 Sen. Robert Nichols said toll roads are something everyone in the region and the state should appreciate.
“I hear people say, 'I’d rather drive on a free road than a toll road,'” Nichols said. “Well there is no such thing as a free road. You’re either using tax money, which is hard to come by, or you’re going to charge somebody for actually using a new road.”