[snip] One section, entitled "Tolling Authority EXPANSION" (the capital letters are included in the report), discusses strategies Congress could use to allow Texas to charge tolls on existing Interstate highways, including Interstates 10, 35, and 27.
"Federal law generally prohibits imposing tolls on interstate highways for which federal funds have been used," the report reads on page 11. "In several situations, however, Congress has enacted specific legislation to allow states to 'buy back,' or re-imburse the federal government, for federal funds applies to a highway segment, thereby relieving it of the prohibition against tolls."
That's right. Your state tax money would be used to 'buy back' highways your federal tax money has already paid for, so the state could charge you tolls to drive on that highway.
Chris Lippincott of TexDOT confirms the language in the report, but stresses that any tolling would not be done without the consent of local officials and the public.
"Even if the Congress allowed states to purchase back parts of the interstate, state law would still be in effect, and it would require TexDOT to seek the approval of not only a county's Commissioners Court, but also the voters in that county, before we tolled existing lanes," Lippincott said.
So we've gone from 'existing lanes will never be tolled,' to 'existing lanes might be tolled with your consent.'
The TexDOT report proposes that 'restrictions on tolling programs' be removed, to 'give states such as Texas, as many opportunities as possible for new funding alternatives.'
The report suggests that if Congress 'authorizes states to implement interstate tolling options beyond current pilot programs' it would 'allow revenues from toll-financed facilities to be used for other critical system needs.'
"I'm not a political guru, but I would suggest to you that the likelihood of an existing lane being turned into a toll lane is pretty slim," Lippencott said.
The TexDOT also brags that the Government Accountability Office has 'cited Texas (and Governor Perry specifically) as a leader in using tolls to "reduce congestion")' Texans are being told that tolls would be collected to build badly needed highways, not to 'reduce congestion.'
Let's put this puppy in its proper frame: private good, public bad. That applies to roads just like everything else. That it is also a way to generate profit for selected interests does not hurt either.
Texas Legislature Continues to Divert Gas Tax Funds
More than one-third of the money Texas motorists pay in driving taxes and fees is diverted into spending on projects that do not contribute to the upkeep and expansion of the road network. Texans pay $3.5 billion into the fund annually through the gas tax and various vehicle licensing fees that apply only to drivers. Of this amount, nearly $1.5 billion is spent on items more properly funded with general revenue, including $725 million on public education and $765 million on social welfare programs including tourism and medical care.
Supporters of several toll road initiatives maintain that there is no money State Highway Fund to pay for new projects. The Texas state constitution also mandates 25 percent in gas tax funds be diverted from transportation to shore up the public school system.
This latest evidence of how the Perryites wish to turn our roads into a mirror of our educational system ( available and of good if you afford it, problematic if you can't ) is the latest installment of the never raise taxes or challenge the ban on income tax school of public finance. This will keep happening over and over again because we are a big , complex, growing state and we have a 19th century system for providing funding for our common needs. What will the Dems do about public transportation needs when they return to power? Where will they get the money to take us into the 21st century in terms of our mobility?
Discuss away....
