Posted on 05/29/2007 2:34:34 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
AUSTIN – Lawmakers broke camp Monday, taking it on faith that Gov. Rick Perry won't slam the brakes on a compromise toll road bill.
Monday's session finale came and went without Mr. Perry signing the bill, which imposes a partial two-year freeze on private toll road deals.
Lawmakers did not try to override his veto on their initial bill to overhaul the state's toll policies.
Many involved in the contentious toll road debate were expecting Mr. Perry to approve the bill by now because his office was closely involved in hammering out the compromise.
Perry spokeswoman Krista Moody said the governor is still sorting through a backlog of legislation. "This bill is no exception to that," she said.
It would give local agencies first dibs on toll projects, limit contracts to 50 years and create a process to gauge a project's market value.
The centerpiece: a two-year moratorium on private toll contracts. North Texas projects would be spared from the ban.
Earlier, the Legislature seemed poised to override Mr. Perry's veto of an earlier toll road bill. Then the Republican governor threatened to call a special session, sending both sides into negotiations.
"We have all given one another our word, and I know the governor's word is good," said Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, the Senate transportation committee chairman. "I feel very comfortable."
If Mr. Perry does not sign the bill by mid-June, it automatically becomes law.
Monday, a few dozen opponents of the Trans-Texas Corridor who gathered at the Capitol said it is unlikely Mr. Perry would reject the compromise.
"The backlash of the [next] Legislature would just be incredible," said David Stall, co-founder of CorridorWatch, a grass-roots group fighting against the corridor initiative.
Trans-Texas Corridor PING!
Come on Rick, veto that sucka.
BTTT
bump.
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-chat/1803916/posts
Firm Advises Cintra in First Privatization of Toll Road in Texas
Excerpt:
DALLAS (March 1, 2007) Bracewell & Giuliani LLP advised Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A., a Spanish transportation company, in its successful bid to develop State Highway 121 into a toll road through Collin and Denton�counties. The award to Cintra, approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is the first privatization of a Texas toll road.
Bracewell is acting as project counsel to Cintra with respect to the 50-year concession from the Texas Department of Transportation. Cintra will pay a $2.1 billion upfront and annual lease payments totaling $700 million.
What do you think about NTTA’s bid on SH 121?
I don’t like foreign ownership of any of our roads or resources.
Now that it has been announced NJ owns stock in both Cintra and Macquarie, leasing the NJ Turnpike to Cintra and/or Macquarie takes on a different light. Should NJ give them an inside track when/if the lease is awarded?
>>>Should NJ give them an inside track when/if the lease is awarded?
I don’t understand what that means.
Or, should NJ exclude Cintra/Macquarie from the bidding process because there is a conflict of interest?
When you say NJ, I think of the citizens. The citizens own the Turnpike. We paid for it. The citizens do not want to lease it at all.
The Politicians, on the otherhand, already have it as a done deal, behind closed doors, as you already know, they own stock.
I don’t like Germany owning my water. I don’t want Spain owning/leasing/renting/add your own term our roads.
It sounds like the private toll road issue is a bigger problem in NJ than it is in Texas.
The deal that was made when the turnpike was built; the tolls were suppose to be temporary. The tolls were in place only until the road was paid for. We have had governors run on the basis of taking the tolls down; because it was paid for. It has become a political pit.
Now, without our input, the turnpike is to be sold so we keep having to pay for it again and again and again.
I don’t know if you have paid attention at all to all the salvaging the Odyssey (OMR) has been doing. But ‘the contractors’ of the Odyssey (OMR) have been in negotiations for permission from Spain to salvage their shipwrecks. One of the things that has been stopping them is the initial capital. I can’t help but wonder if the push for Cintra to be the lease holder of the tolls is related to their ‘capital’ needed.
What do they do with the profits?
Generally speaking, if the toll road profits are going to build other roads, that’s OK. If the profits are going into the general fund, that’s not OK.
bump
bump de bump.
Thanks for the ping!
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