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(However, it could be anytime between now and Thursday's vote deadline. Take quick action at LINK below!)
ACTION ITEM -
Don't let lawmakers open the door to endless NEW toll roads
Tell them:
VOTE 'NO' on HJR 144. No to new toll roads. No to erasing public notice, no to sneaky constitutional amendment language with NO DISCLOSURE about toll roads and higher fees, & no to sweeping authority without sufficient public input.
BACKGROUND:
The bill's author of the enabling legislation, HB 3332, claims it just relates to Maverick County, but to achieve the end run around state approval of this new toll taxing authority, it requires a change to the Texas Constitution that would then open the door to authorizing these bureaucracies ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE!
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This section is particularly troubling:
Sec. 68 (b) The legislature may pass a local law described by Subsection (a) of this section without the local notice required for special or local laws.
Why would ANY legislator vote to create a new taxing authority WITHOUT the usual public notice? The actual wording of the amendment says NOTHING about the possibility of toll roads or higher fees that could be imposed by an RMA. This intentionally misleads voters about the chief features of the implications of it. TURF, GAWTP & TTP sued the state of Texas for similar intentionally deceptive ballot language and prevailed at the Appellate Court.
ABBOTT'S NO TOLL PLEDGE IN JEOPARDY
Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to fix Texas roads without more taxes, fees, or TOLLS. He and his five Transportation Commissioners have consistently told policy makers and elected officials we are in a non-toll environment. So this bill seeks to go around the Governor's protection against toll roads to form an RMA without commission approval.
IT GETS WORSE:
Texas Policy Research enumerates it well in its analysis: "The authority to create RMAs without public notice requirements diminishes a vital constitutional safeguard designed to ensure transparency and accountability in the legislative process. This circumvention could establish a precedent that enables localized legislation to be pushed through without sufficient public scrutiny, potentially allowing quasi-governmental agencies to be formed with far-reaching powers, including eminent domain and the imposition of tolls or fees, with minimal community input."
RMAs are a creature created for toll roads. Therefore...
DON'T LET THEM OPEN THE FLOODGATES TO NEW TOLL ROADS & HIGHER TAXES!
THIS BILL UNDERMINES THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TEXAS LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY BILL TO ABOLISH TOLL ROADS AND VIOLATES RPT PLATFORM PLANK 51 - THAT CALLS FOR LAWMAKERS TO ABOLISH TOLL ROADS