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Bob Hall

  • Sparks fly as senators discover numerous toll roads with no debt on them, prompts call to remove tolls
    By Terri Hall
    September 15, 2016

    It’s not often that the very sleepy subject of transportation offers a fiery discussion, but yesterday’s Senate Transportation Committee meeting did not disappoint. In a rare olive branch extended to grassroots anti-toll advocacy groups, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom and Texans for Toll-free Highways, Chairman Senator Robert Nichols invited them to address the committee about one of its interim studies - a study on the elimination of toll roads.

    Just the title evokes strong emotions on both sides of the issue, and those emotions were in plain view Wednesday. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Executive Director James Bass laid out the numbers of how much it would cost to retire tolls on roads built with state funds. Let me say that again, toll roads that were built with state money. That means gasoline taxes and other state funds were used to build the road, but Texas drivers are being charged again, through tolls, to use it — a double tax scheme.

  • Unexpected delay by Commission puts non-toll fix to LBJ E in Dallas on hold
    By JoAnn Fleming and Terri Hall
    January 25, 2018

    A showdown was expected at today’s Texas Transportation Commission meeting over Interstate-635 E as elected officials seeking to make good on their campaign promises to end tolls were butting heads with transportation interests seeking to lobby for more tolls. Thanks to the tireless work of Senator Bob Hall who had brought the various factions together, all the players from across the spectrum had agreed to advance a non-toll expansion of Interstate-635 E (from US-75 to Interstate 30) without tolls, sidelining tolled express lanes in accordance with the policy of Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick,who recently pulled the plug on future toll roads in response to grassroots pressure. The non-toll plan is what appeared on today’s agenda.

    However, to everyone’s surprise, Chairman Bruce Bugg announced that he would delay action on the project. He referred to a $1 billion funding gap between the old toll plan and the newly brokered non-toll version, but Transportation Director of the Regional Transportation Council Michael Morris very articulately begged to differ.

    Morris laid out several scenarios of how the non-toll freeway expansion was fully funded and how it could move forward today without further delay. Even the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Deputy Executive Director Marc Williams testified the non-toll project was, in fact, ‘fiscally constrained,’ which means fully funded.

  • IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Read our lips: “No new toll taxes!”

    Grassroots Coalition of 67 Organizations Call Out

    Transportation Agencies for Breaking Governor’s 

    Promise for No More Toll Roads


    (November 8, 2017 — Austin, Texas) Today, a Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition project led by Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), Texans for Toll-free Highways, and Grassroots America was hand-delivered to Gov. Greg Abbott and his new Transportation Commission Chair, Bruce Bugg. The Coalition letterinsists that the Transportation Commission, TxDOT, and all related mobility authorities make good on Governor Abbott’s promise to build needed roads without new toll taxes. The Coalition project was launched in response to last week’s proposal by TxDOT to the Transportation Commission to approve over a dozen new toll projects in the state’s ten-year plan. Fifteen of the 17 projects are toll projects, including I-35 in Austin and San Antonio, I-635E in Dallas, I-45 in Houston, and Loop 1604 on San Antonio.

    JoAnn Fleming, Grassroots America’s Executive Director said of the latest proposal for new toll projects, “Apparently, the state and local transportation bureaucracies didn’t get Gov. Abbott’s memo during his first campaign for Governor and haven’t listened ever since. The Governor has repeatedly underscored his vow to get Texas off the toll road and debt scheme. He’s made it clear he wants the state on a pay-as-you-go plan for road construction, and voters have approved the funding.

  • 'F' Bombshell: 49% of Texas legislature fails to protect taxpayers from tolls, fines, fee increases, & new debt

    While we shared with you the good, the bad and ugly from the 87th regular session here    , TURF analyzed 15 bills that received record votes (both good and bad bills) to determine its Report Card, and the results may shock you.

     
    In 2017, 57% of lawmakers earned As & Bs, and in 2019, 19% of lawmakers hit that mark. So imagine our disappointment that in 2021 that number dropped to just 8%.
     
    In the Texas House,69 of the 150 members earned an 'F,'and 19 of 31 members of the Texas Senate got a failing grade.This is the first time since Lt Gov Dan Patrick took office that the senate scored worse than the House. Put another way, 46% of the House earned an 'F' while 61% of senators earned an 'F.'
     
    Every member was forewarned before any record vote took place. So check out what grade your lawmakers earned and hold them accountable. With redistricting set to go into full swing on Monday as lawmakers are called back for a 3rd special session, make sure they hear from you, and, if necessary, start looking for quality candidates. 

    The stand-out anti-toll champions for the session are: Senator Bob Hall, Rep. Kyle Biedermann, Rep. Jeff Cason, Rep. Matt Schaefer, Rep. Bryan Slaton, Rep. Matt Shaheenand Rep.Valoree Swanson.
     
     

  • Burkett wants highest possible toll taxes for constituents
    By Terri Hall
    November 9, 2017

    With Cindy Burkett throwing her hat in the ring in an attempt to unseat grassroots conservative stalwart Senator Bob Hall, the voters of Texas Senate District 2 need to know about her record. Burkett was quick to support selling off Interstate 635 E to the highest bidder using a controversial toll contract known in Texas as a comprehensive development agreement (or CDA) that gives control of our public roads to private toll companies.

    Interstate 635 toll lanes from I-35E to the Dallas North Tollway are already operated by Spain-based Cintra. Commuters in the Metroplex face paying upwards of $24/day in tolls to this foreign corporation just to get to work, and no elected official has any control over how high those toll rates can go. Burkett wants that tax burden to extend to commuters in her own district from US 75 to I-30.

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