March 7, 2019 - TRA Newswire -
22 really bad railroad bills have been filed so far this session in the Texas legislature and that's before a last minute deluge of 532 pieces of proposed legislation were filed Thursday and almost 800 on Friday. Our Austin legislative correspondent will be sorting through, flagging and tracking any bills that are considered pro or anti-rail issues. As in the last session, a slew of anti-high speed rail bills were filed by a small band of rural lawmakers intent on killing a private investor bullet train project between Dallas and Houston.
This was a quiet week in the House and Senate Transportation Committees, but notably, Rep. Mando Martinez’s bill, HB 71, relating to the creation of regional transit authorities was voted favorably out of committee with no amendments. Texas Rail Advocates puts a stamp of approval on HB 71.
House Speaker Dennis Bonnen has set the House calendar for next week as a final week of a Monday-Wednesday schedule. After next week, we can expect a Monday-Thursday schedule as things ramp up under the dome in Austin. In addition, Bonnen stated on Wednesday that every bill will be referred to a committee within two weeks. This statement has effectively put the House into overdrive. The Senate has far fewer rules in general, so it is harder to anticipate what they will do ahead of time.
You can follow railroad bills that Texas Rail Advocates has posted through this link:
The following bill, opposed by TRA, has seen movement:
Senate Bill 552 by Charles Schwertner is scheduled fora public hearing in Senate State Affairs on March 11, 2019. Additional rights to landowners for surveys. Provides landowners with increased disclosure of existing survey-related rights, including the right to negotiate survey terms and recover damages caused by the survey, as well as the landowner’s right to refuse access to their property without a court order. This is one of the series of bills that would aim to slow down and kill the high-speed rail project but could also affect others that have eminent domain rights under Texas law. It also would create more bureaucratic paperwork.
You can contact your state senator and tell them to vote down Senate Bill 552 through this link: https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home
22 really bad railroad bills have been filed so far this session in the Texas legislature and that's before a last minute deluge of 532 pieces of proposed legislation were filed Thursday and almost 800 on Friday. Our Austin legislative correspondent will be sorting through, flagging and tracking any bills that are considered pro or anti-rail issues. As in the last session, a slew of anti-high speed rail bills were filed by a small band of rural lawmakers intent on killing a private investor bullet train project between Dallas and Houston.
This was a quiet week in the House and Senate Transportation Committees, but notably, Rep. Mando Martinez’s bill, HB 71, relating to the creation of regional transit authorities was voted favorably out of committee with no amendments. Texas Rail Advocates puts a stamp of approval on HB 71.
House Speaker Dennis Bonnen has set the House calendar for next week as a final week of a Monday-Wednesday schedule. After next week, we can expect a Monday-Thursday schedule as things ramp up under the dome in Austin. In addition, Bonnen stated on Wednesday that every bill will be referred to a committee within two weeks. This statement has effectively put the House into overdrive. The Senate has far fewer rules in general, so it is harder to anticipate what they will do ahead of time.
You can follow railroad bills that Texas Rail Advocates has posted through this link:
The following bill, opposed by TRA, has seen movement:
Senate Bill 552 by Charles Schwertner is scheduled fora public hearing in Senate State Affairs on March 11, 2019. Additional rights to landowners for surveys. Provides landowners with increased disclosure of existing survey-related rights, including the right to negotiate survey terms and recover damages caused by the survey, as well as the landowner’s right to refuse access to their property without a court order. This is one of the series of bills that would aim to slow down and kill the high-speed rail project but could also affect others that have eminent domain rights under Texas law. It also would create more bureaucratic paperwork.
You can contact your state senator and tell them to vote down Senate Bill 552 through this link: https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home