Texas Governor: Transportation and Energy

In the fourth part of News 8 Austin's five-part gubernatorial forum, the candidates discuss transportation and energy.

Q: Now, let’s combine public transportation and developing renewable energy. What do you think we should be doing to make Texas the leader in the nation in these areas and why should Texans care about that?

Strayhorn: Well, we certainly need every renewable energy and we need wind generation and we also need telecommuting. Fifteen percent of my employees are telecommuting at the Comptroller’s Office now. But, we need an efficient freeway system that once was and again can be the envy of the nation. As governor, I will blast off the bureaucratic books this governor’s $184 billion boondoggle that crams toll roads down Texans throats. TxDOT’s budget has increased 117 percent. We have the dollars to have an efficient freeway system on existing right-of-ways and Texas property belongs to Texans, not foreign companies, and this largest land grab in Texas history that the governor calls the Trans Texas Corridor, I call Trans Texas Catastrophe. And we will have an efficient freeway system on existing right-of-ways today.

Bell: I think the state needs to be doing everything it can to support local municipalities when it comes to public transportation. It is something that I was very supportive of as a member of the Houston City Council and will continue to be supportive of as governor of Texas. Also, I think that it’s time for Texas to step up. If we are going to remain the energy capital here in the United States, then we’re going to have to be spending more on the research and development of alternative sources of energy, and the good news is, whether you talk about wind or solar or biodiesel, Texas is perfectly positioned to be a leader in those areas. But, we risk falling further and further behind California if we don’t get serious about funding the research and development of alternative sources of energy.

Friedman: Solar power, wind power are the watch words of the future. We have been following this American parade in every category. Executions, dropouts, toll roads, property taxes. We’re number one in all of those things of all the states. It’s time we became number one in something good. I’m suggesting that renewable fuel is the easy one because Willie Nelson is the man who really is an authority on this, and there’s hundreds of millions of people around the world who love and respect his music and his spirit, including the farmers of Texas. So, we will have a farmers’ coop selling ethanol and biodiesel all over the state. I will put 35,000 school buses on biodiesel. Very soon, truckers, all these other people will be trying biodiesel. Just like Willie’s bus. It runs on a 100 percent vegetable oil. When that happens, when we get a sizable minority of Texans trying biodiesel, you’ll see the prices at the pump dropping and you’ll see the environment getting cleaner. Then the soccer moms are going to get aboard. Everyone wants a clean environment. We’re running out of dinosaur wine, folks. We’ve got to go with renewable fuel. Then, we can lead the American parade in something really, really good, which is renewable fuels that you can grow and we’ll have clean energy and clean government.

Perry: You know, it’s really interesting that you would combine those two together, because the fact of the matter is that wind energy and the generation of that wind energy is going to be one of the big factors in driving Texas forward. That’s zero emission and with the concerns that we have over our environment having wind energy, which will be developed mostly in West Texas, that’s the area of the state where you’ll see those big wind turbines being built up on the high plains. So, how do you move that energy from West Texas, the high plains, down to where the population centers are? That’s where these corridor-type concepts are really going to come into play, the Trans Texas Corridor, Ports to Plains, the Amarillo-Lubbock type of corridor that they are talking about being built. Those go hand in hand, and I was in Lubbock this last week and the people in Lubbock were really excited about the opportunity for those wind generation plants to be built, that zero emission type energy source, and the transporting that back to where the population centers are. Those Trans Texas Corridor type concepts are going to be the future, not only of our transportation infrastructure of moving people more safely, more quickly, addressing the air quality issues and getting those hazardous materials out of our city centers, but also give Texans the option. If they don’t want to pay a toll, I-35 will still be there and people can get on it and drive to their heart’s content. It may take them a little longer to get there, but the options are going to be there for the future, and Texas will be seen as the leader in transportation infrastructure in the world.

Let 'R Blow

Oct. 02, 2006
Perry Announces Major Energy Diversification Plan

Private Sector to Invest $10 Billion; PUC to Construct Transmission Lines
DALLAS – Gov. Rick Perry today announced a major public-private initiative to further diversify the state’s energy supply by expanding wind-generated energy.
“This is a landmark day as the State of Texas partners with private industry to make a historic investment of more than $10 billion in new wind energy infrastructure that will diversify our energy production, clean up our air and help Texas surpass our renewable energy goals,” Perry said.
Private companies have agreed to the capital investments in wind energy generation while the Public Utility Commission directs the construction of additional transmission lines to capture and deliver the zero-emission power.
“I am proud of our state’s commitment to renewable energy production,” Perry said. “We are on the leading edge of developing renewable sources of energy and a more diversified energy economy which is key to keeping costs down.”
Perry, who was joined at the announcement by executives of several companies that have committed to building wind energy infrastructure, emphasized the benefits wind energy has on the environment.
For every 1000 megawatts generated by new wind sources, Texas will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by six million tons over the next 20 years.
Perry also noted that the announcement bodes well for further growth of the Texas economy.
“Over the past three years we have added 650,000 jobs, transformed a record budget deficit into a record budget surplus, and attracted more business expansions and relocations than any state in the nation,” Perry said.
“With this $10 billion announcement, the economic ripple will be more like a tidal wave as these companies pour millions of dollars into wages and salaries for Texas workers.”
Texas has abundant wind energy, particularly in West Texas and along the gulf cost. In 2001 Texas added more wind power capacity than all other states combined, and earlier this summer Texas surpassed California as the nation’s leader in wind generation capacity.
The planned expansion of wind-generated energy builds on initiatives Perry developed in 2003 with the creation of the Texas Energy Planning Council. The council was charged with developing a long-term energy plan for the state, including exploring alternative and renewable sources of energy. The council’s report, issued in December 2004, recommended that by 2025, 10 percent of the state’s power needs come from renewable sources and that the PUC takes steps to overcome transmission obstacles that limit the development of renewable energy sources.
“This is a monumental investment that will make our air cleaner and our people healthier,” Perry said.

That should be posted in its entirety. So here we go:

Strayhorn’s Transportation Plan Reads Like Bad Science Fiction

AUSTIN – Carole Strayhorn today unveiled a transportation plan that does little more than read like the script of a bad science fiction movie: a lot of lights, a few cameras and very little action.

“Carole Strayhorn’s latest plan to solve Texas future transportation needs is so unrealistic, she might as well have proposed using the transporter system from the Starship Enterprise,” said Perry campaign spokesman Robert Black. “Carole Strayhorn is trying to make Texans believe her plan is legitimate by using bad special effects, slights-of-hand, and out-of-this-world absurdity but Texans are smart enough to see there is no substance behind her smoke and mirror transportation tricks.”

Carole Strayhorn’s latest far-fetched proposals:

* Implement a “Ports-to-Plains” transportation plan. Carole Strayhorn provides no new funds for completion of this project and this plan does nothing to relieve congestion in the I35 corridor. She claims that she is opposed to taking private land for public highways, yet she is willing to take West Texas land for a public highway?

* Expand I35 by using existing rights-of-way. This plan is currently being implemented where existing rights-of-way can be utilized. It will add one lane to I35, cost billions of dollars and take decades to complete.

* Double Deck I35. To double deck I35 would cost $10 billion and take decades. She provides no new money to fund this venture.

* Further efficiencies in TxDOT. Where are the efficiencies? If Carole Strayhorn knows where TxDOT is wasting money, she should tell taxpayers today.

* Increase Telecommuting. Is Carole Strayhorn going to TELL Texans to stay home and FORCE telecommuting on Texas employers? How will mechanics, utility workers, oil patch workers, and millions of other Texans who labor with their hands every day.

* Make railroads more efficient. How will Carole Strayhorn implement this proposal? How will she force private railroads to be “more efficient” on 120 year old rail lines? How does this get hazardous materials out of our city centers?

* Use $4 billion in Texas Mobility Funds. This money is already dedicated to relieve congestion in Texas’ major metro areas. Is Carole Strayhorn proposing stripping our major cities of these funds and allowing congestion to continue?

* Use $3 billion in revenue bonds. Like the mobility fund, most of this revenue has already been committed to relieve congestion in urban areas.

Earlier in the year, the Strayhorn campaign’s first response to address the Texas transportation challenge was to do nothing: ”He (Strayhorn campaign manager Brad McClellan) said there’s plenty of state and federal transportation aid to pay for the state’s future highway needs.” [Austin American Statesman 02/25/06]

While now saying that she is against toll roads, Carole Strayhorn repeatedly recommended that the Texas Legislature use toll roads to build more roads faster. She even advocated using the financing tools used to build the Trans Texas Corridor.

* ”Comptroller Rylander’s performance review recommends TxDOT adopt innovative financing tools, such as Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles (GARVEEs), build more toll roads, and tap into a new line of credit through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA).” [Press release from Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, January 12, 2001]

* ”Another dimension of Shapiro’s plan, called ‘toll equity,’ which Rylander supports, lets the state pool taxpayer money with private financing to build toll roads, which helps free up state money for other projects.” [”Lawmakers lay groundwork to ease traffic, but plan lacks money.” Associated Press 20 May 2001]

* ”Some of Rylander’s proposals would make it easier for Texans to register their cars, and others would consolidate operations at various department offices. She also supports building toll roads and ensuring that representatives from every region of Texas, including the border, serve on the Transportation Commission.” [”Comptroller criticizes state agency; Rylander’s report says.” Austin American-Statesman Jan.13, 2001]

* ”Building highways through toll financing, rather than pay-as-you-go financing, dramatically speeds the time it takes to complete a given project. We estimate that if tolls made possible the immediate construction of a $320 million project that would otherwise not be built for another 15 years, the project would economically benefit the state some $411 million more, over 30 years, than if the road was delayed and built as a free road under a pay-as-you-go system.” [Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. “Paving the Way: A Review of the Texas Department of Transportation.” Jan. 2000]

”Carole Strayhorn has been all over the map when it comes to transportation and her latest proposal amounts to unfunded promises that will leave Texans stuck in traffic for decades,” Black said. “Texans deserve better than a plan that looks like it was drawn up on the back of a cocktail napkin.”

http://www.rickperry.org/news/article/291

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