Tag Archives: TxDOT

Special session speculation

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We all know that the Lege adjourned without finishing all its business. A lot of people are speculating there will need to be a special session to deal with it. At this time, Governor Perry is not one of those … Continue reading →

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So what happens now?

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hell if I know. In a last-minute legislative meltdown, the Texas Senate adjourned Monday night without passing key measures to avert a shutdown of the Texas Department of Transportation and other state agencies, raising the specter of a special session … Continue reading →

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TxDOT lives, Lege adjourns

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The threat of a special session has been averted…we think. The House just voted to work the Legislature out of a jam by keeping open the Texas Department of Transportation and other state agencies at risk of closing. Members needed … Continue reading →

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One threat of a special session averted, another arises

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Gah. In a surprise ending to the second-to-last day of the legislative session, the House failed to pass the so-called sunset safety net bill, HB1959, before the midnight deadline tonight for the chamber to approve bills. The bill would allow … Continue reading →

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The lack of leadership

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. John Carona gets medieval on his party’s leadership. Tempers flared Saturday on the Legislature’s last weekend with a key GOP senator declaring that the session’s central theme is “lack of leadership” by top members of his own party. … Continue reading →

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Red light camera ban appears dead

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So says the Star-Telegram, which has been the go-to source for these stories. A final version of legislation restructuring the Texas Department of Transportation is not expected to include a ban on red-light cameras or a local option provision allowing … Continue reading →

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Budget heads to the Governor

Posted on May 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, thanks in large part to the stimulus package and its infusion of funds that prevented the need to dip into the Rainy Day Fund, the budget process was relatively uncontroversial. Yesterday, it was passed by the House, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Houston extends red light camera contract

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll have red light cameras to kick around for at least a few more years. The City Council extended the contract of the company that administers its red-light camera program for three more years Wednesday, aiming to thwart legislation pending … Continue reading →

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Senate passes TxDOT sunset bill, red light cameras not dead yet

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate approved its version of HB300, the TxDOT sunset bill, and as expected it has some major differences from the House version. Plans to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for transportation projects in North Texas progressed Monday night … Continue reading →

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Perry’s salvage job

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How can you tell that sine die is approaching? Governor Perry starts getting involved in the legislative process. Perhaps state lawmakers are fatigued by Gov. Rick Perry’s long tenure or maybe they’re just balking at his leadership, but the Republican-led … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Skinning a cat: Alternate methods

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the TxDOT sunset bill HB300 included among its many House amendments a couple that were aimed at killing off red light cameras in Texas’ cities, by putting them under the authority of DPS and by forbidding the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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RIP, statewide smoking ban

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I thought it still had a chance after it finally passed out of committee in the Senate, but the statewide smoking ban is officially dead. [State Sen. Rodney] Ellis held a press conference to announce the death of the statewide … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The Senate TxDOT sunset bill is not the House TxDOT sunset bill

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the massive House sunset bill for TxDOT, HB300, contained a boatload of amendments that greatly altered the original bill, including one that would make TxDOT a 15-member elected commission and one that would have outlawed red light … Continue reading →

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More on the House attempt to kill red light cameras

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Grits notes with some pleasure a couple of amendments in HB300, the massive TxDOT sunset bill that passed yesterday, which would limit and ultimately end cities’ use of red light cameras. While I’ve never understood the fear and loathing these … Continue reading →

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More on the House attempt to kill red light cameras

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Grits notes with some pleasure a couple of amendments in HB300, the massive TxDOT sunset bill that passed yesterday, which would limit and ultimately end cities’ use of red light cameras. While I’ve never understood the fear and loathing these … Continue reading →

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Sunsetting TxDOT

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was Day One of the debate over HB300, the TxDOT sunset bill. The Lege is on Day Two now, and if you look at all the amendments they’ve gone through, you can see why this is taking so long. … Continue reading →

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Senate approves SUPERTRAIN study

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward. Texas should create a long-term plan for developing a statewide passenger rail system, the state Senate decided today in the first such step in years. The approval of Senate Bill 1382 comes at a time when the … Continue reading →

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More on the SUPERTRAIN

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Are the stars really aligning to bring a SUPERTRAIN to Texas? Maybe so! Current plans for a Texas system envision a “T-bone” track shape connecting Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and other towns. But much remains vague: where exactly the … Continue reading →

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House passes budget, slaps Perry

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Chris Turner, on Twitter: At 3:56 am, the House unanimously passed the budget. Believe it or not, that was earlier than was originally anticipated. The pregame chatter was that the House would have to reconvene today to finish … Continue reading →

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Taking taxation aversion to its logical extreme

Posted on April 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This story just boggles my mind. Think traffic congestion is bad now? Wait until 2012. That’s when Texas’ highway fund — which relies on a motor fuels tax that hasn’t been raised since 1991 — will be out of money … Continue reading →

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For the money, I sure hope so

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

News flash: Travel times on the newly-expanded Katy Freeway have improved. The expansion of 23 miles of roadway along the Katy was completed in October. The $2.8 billion project took five years to complete and added 18 lanes between the … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court OKs Grand Parkway Segment E work

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved an agreement to build and maintain a segment of the Grand Parkway connecting the Katy Freeway and U.S. 290, but questions over what would happen if the county ultimately decided the … Continue reading →

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Activists tell TxDOT to slow down and be open

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The following is a press release from a coalition of activists, including the Sierra Club, Environment Texas, Independent Texans, Houston Tomorrow, and the CTC: Representatives of a broad coalition of quality of life, political reform, and environmental groups and citizens … Continue reading →

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Morrison speaks on the Grand Parkway

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Fort Bend County Commissioner Richard Morrison writes about the recently-greenlighted Grand Parkway Segment E and the possibility that stimulus funds could be used to fund what will become a toll road. If Segment E is funded from the stimulus money … Continue reading →

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Here come stimulus money

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The first batch of funds is arriving. The Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated more than $500 million to Texas cities and counties on Monday, part of a wave of stimulus money expected to flow into the state. Federal … Continue reading →

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Grand Parkway Segment E gets a go-ahead

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved an agreement to build and maintain a segment of the Grand Parkway connecting the Katy Freeway and U.S. 290, but questions over what would happen if the county ultimately decided the … Continue reading →

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