Jim Reed of the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority tried to pass off their illegal $500,000 loan from the City with a red herring. He says the transaction is a typical interlocal agreement between the county and city. Guess what? Mr. Reed knows it, Chairman Bill Thornton knows it…the ARMA is NOT part of the county. They were created with STATE law and are a STATE agency. Though Bexar County petitioned the Transportation Commission to open an RMA and appoints its Board, the RMA is a STATE entity. They go to great lengths to make the PUBLIC think they’re a local agency, a local voice.

Not so, the Governor appoints the Chairman for crying out loud. Don’t fall for the smoke and mirrors games being played by these professional politicians. They’re engaged in illegal activity and they’d be smart to stop trying to cover it up, since that’s another illegal offense that Mr. Scooter Libby got jailtime for.

Mayor Garza made the release of the $500,000 loan to the RMA contingent upon the City getting a seat on the Board, which would require a legislative remedy that never happened. Reed also said he’s the City’s representative on the Board. We’ll see if they can show documents to back-up that claim…
_________________________________

San Antonio Toll Party Comments to the Mayor and Council –
In March 2005, the City authorized and has since funded a $500,000 illegal loan to the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority. They know it’s illegal since one of our supporters brought this issue before this Council in October 2005. The RMA scrambled to try and find a way to pay it back. At their March 8, 2006 Board Meeting, they voted to explore the option of selling bonds to pay back the loan. It’s still yet to be re-paid.

This loan was contingent upon the City receiving a seat on the Board. This has never happened. What are you going to do about it, what is Susan Reid going to do to get this money back and get a seat on the Board? This is taxation without representation and smacks of the kind of corruption we’re seeing at TxDOT.

Now I’d like to shift our focus to the poor planning that has largely created the congestion we’re told is the reason for tolls…

The poor planning on the part of our City and the Highway Department (TxDOT) has made it nearly impossible to get around. It seems both have no problem tearing up every road we take to go to work, taking months, even years to put it back together.

I’d like to remind what former City Planner, Dave Pasley said in an editorial in Dec. of 2005:
“There are deep flaws in the city’s political and development practices.

Ten years ago there was excess capacity on U.S. 281 and Loop 1604. Today there is gridlock. How is it possible to screw up these two highway corridors so badly in just 10 years? How can a city without enough traffic to warrant an HOV lane suddenly have so much congestion it needs a toll road?

The short answer is that we have not provided for any connectivity.”

He goes on and suggests solutions, but that‘s the problem, no one is listening to any other solutions other than toll roads. We’re tired of more of the same.

In the City Bond, Props 1 & 2, there are 17 projects you plan to tear up all over the city without any identified funds to complete them. At public meetings, they said you could use a “private” partner to get the remaining funds needed to finish these projects. THERE IS NO FIRM PARTNER TO FUND THESE PROJECTS, only a potential list. It’s written into the bond that if no one steps up, the City will have to come up with the remaining funds…now at the time this bond was written, it was TxDOT’s intent to use a CDA private toll contract to extract toll taxes from the traveling public on EXISTING highways 281 and 1604. The toll slush fund was to commence soon. It’s not hard to conclude where this “extra” money to complete these projects might come from. But since that CDA is off the table, and TxDOT says there’s no money, the RMA has no money, and the MPO gets their money from TxDOT, who’s gonna finish these roads? The taxpayers fear once again that the City will come to the them with another bond or property tax hike if we want your roads put back together again!

With this sort of bad planning, the City is actually creating congestion. We’re constantly being told TxDOT’s solution to “congestion” is toll roads. It’s not hard to connect the dots as to where this may be headed.

We’re asking people not to support this particular bond for these reasons. We need to say “No” to long-term debt to pay for necessities when the City engages in corporate welfare like giving $800,000 to a PRIVATE airline for ADVERTISING and $515 million in tax breaks to one of the world’s biggest billionaires, Bill Gates, in the Microsoft deal. You voted to give OUR tax money to support Joe Krier’s San Antonio Mobility Coalition that represents 70 highway related companies that advocate tolls, as well as the San Antonio Free Trade Alliance that’s advocating for the Trans Texas Corridor.

I’ll close with the MPO…
The City’s voting block on the MPO has thwarted the PEOPLE’S opposition and BLOCKED our ability to get the ORIGINAL gas tax plan installed on 281. We will not accept this.

San Antonio roads are NOT for sale, we won’t stand for taxation without representation, an unresolved illegal transaction, nor will this issue or the appointments to the MPO be ignored. You can no longer blame the Legislature, when you CAN control where our gas taxes go.

Many on this council and the Mayor will be facing the voters in just two days. We the PEOPLE will not be ignored, the will of the people will not be thwarted. Look no further than the passage of a private toll moratorium by 139-1 in the House and 27-4 in the Senate as evidence. It’s abundantly clear that the people of Texas are dead set against this shift to tolls and the Trans Texas Corridor. San Antonio is unique in being affected by both.

President Ronald Reagan said, “We the people tell the government what to do; it does not tell us. We the people are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world’s constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which we the people tell the government what it is allowed to do. We the people are free.”

We know there are no free roads, we do pay a host of taxes for roads, but we call them freeways for a reason. Our freedom of movement, our freedom of travel, is being taken away without a public vote. And “We the PEOPLE” intend to change that. We hope to work with the new Mayor and new Council to right what’s gone wrong.

Hooray! We’ve been asking for Senator Hutchison to intervene and call off the dogs at the Federal Highway Administration (called in by the Governor’s boy, House Transportation Committee Chair Mike Krusee), and she delivered! Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters concedes in a letter that HB 1892, the toll moratorium, DOES NOT jeopardize Texas’ federal highway funds. Senator Hutchison introduced an amendment to prevent the tolling of interstates in 2005 and has spoken out against this toll proliferation ever since. We simply sent Senator Hutchison the LAW, and that sure helps provide some convincing moral clarity on what’s been going on to help Ms. Peters see the light…TxDOT, the Governor, and the Federal Highway Administration have been illegally lobbying against state legislation.

§ 556.006. LEGISLATIVE LOBBYING. (a) A state agency may
not use appropriated money to attempt to influence the passage or
defeat of a legislative measure.
(b) This section does not prohibit a state officer or
employee from using state resources to provide public information
or to provide information responsive to a request.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1035, § 86, eff. June 19,
1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1498, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1999.

AND….

§ 556.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) “Appropriated money” means money appropriated by
the legislature through the General Appropriations Act or other
law.
(2) “State agency” means:
(A) a department, commission, board, office, or
other agency in the executive branch of state government, created
under the constitution or a statute, with statewide authority;
(B) a university system or an institution of
higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code; or
(C) the supreme court, the court of criminal
appeals, another entity in the judicial branch of state government
with statewide authority, or a court of appeals.
(3) “State employee” means an individual who is
employed by a state agency. The term does not include an elected
official or an individual appointed to office by the governor or
another officer.
(4) “State officer” means an individual appointed to
office by the governor or another officer.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1498, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1999.

___________________________________

§ 39.02. ABUSE OF OFFICIAL CAPACITY. (a) A public
servant commits an offense if, with intent to obtain a benefit or
with intent to harm or defraud another, he intentionally or
knowingly:
(1) violates a law relating to the public servant’s
office or employment; or
(2) misuses government property, services, personnel,
or any other thing of value belonging to the government that has
come into the public servant’s custody or possession by virtue of
the public servant’s office or employment.
(b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a Class A
misdemeanor.
(c) An offense under Subsection (a)(2) is:
(1) a Class C misdemeanor if the value of the use of
the thing misused is less than $20;
(2) a Class B misdemeanor if the value of the use of
the thing misused is $20 or more but less than $500 ;
(3) a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the use of
the thing misused is $500 or more but less than $1,500;
(4) a state jail felony if the value of the use of the
thing misused is $1,500 or more but less than $20,000;
(5) a felony of the third degree if the value of the
use of the thing misused is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000;
(6) a felony of the second degree if the value of the
use of the thing misused is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000;
or
(7) a felony of the first degree if the value of the
use of the thing misused is $200,000 or more.
(d) A discount or award given for travel, such as frequent
flyer miles, rental car or hotel discounts, or food coupons, are not
things of value belonging to the government for purposes of this
section due to the administrative difficulty and cost involved in
recapturing the discount or award for a governmental entity.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.
Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3241, ch. 558, § 7, eff.
Sept. 1, 1983. Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 39.01 and
amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1994.

The Quorum Report and the Austin American Statesman are reporting a deal is being brokered between Transportation Committee Chairman John Carona and the Governor over the private toll moratorium/county powers bill HB 1892. However, what we are hearing from insiders is that the provisions being negotiated DON’T TOUCH the moratorium or the Carona provisions deemed “killer” by the pro-tollers. Overall, there are clearly the votes to override, the Governor knows it, and our senators/reps will not accept a lesser bill, only HB 1892 or better.

Keep the pressure on…who knows what threats from this Governor are still to come.

See who to call or what to do here.

Vote here.

We all know these internet polls aren’t scientific, but FYI, all the polling our politicians are getting shows MASSIVE supermajorities against toll roads…and it’s gone up from the 60% range to above 80% in the last 6-8 months!

This WOAI poll doesn’t give people the option of saying “I’d agree to a gas tax increase ONLY if there were no further raiding of those funds” option. The fiscal mismanagement at TxDOT and the raiding of highway funds makes a ton of folks skeptical to give them more money.

Link to WOAI troubleshooters story here. This program seems to be some earmark in our highway funds set-up by the construction and landscaping industries. It’s absolutely INSANE to be wasting these sums of money on “enhancements” when the Governor, TxDOT, and Senator Wentworth among others keep claiming all of our gas taxes are eaten up in maintenance. Seems it’s more accurate to say they’re eaten up in frivolous earmarks and inane programs that should be devoted to congestion problems…read more here and here and here about other senseless diversions in our highway funds.

You Paid for Them: Million Dollar Rest Stops

Last Update: May 9, 2007 11:50 AM

Posted By: Maritza Nunez

Watch This Video

How much is too much for a nice place to stop and use the bathroom? The News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters have uncovered a multi-million dollar program that pays to renovate or reconstruct dozens of rest areas. One pair of rest stops near Huntsville is costing taxpayers nearly $18 million.The Texas Department of Transportation has told us that there is no more money to build new highways here. So where is all of the money for this rest area program coming from and why is it being spent on bathrooms and not new roads? News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Tanji Patton investigates.

By Tanji Patton

The next time you drive by one of those new TxDoT rest stops, you might want to stop and take a look around. Afterall, you’re paying for them.

They are impressive, like the pair on I-10 near Seguin in Guadalupe County.

“It’s beautiful,” one traveler tells me. “It’s my first time here. It’s gorgeous.”

“Oh, I love ’em,” says another. “I love the new rest stops.”

Inside the spacious facility, you’ll find video kiosks presenting the history of Texas, vaulted ceilings, even a nature trail.

“I think they spent a little more on it than they should,” notes another driver.

Actually, the state is spending millions of tax dollars, federal and state, to get you out of your car.

“Our goal is to improve safety.” Randall Dillard, a spokesman for TxDoT, says a rested driver is a safer driver and that’s why the state is spending big bucks on places where you can… you know.

$114 million dollars has been spent so far on 32 newly-renovated rest areas. But the plan is far from finished. Another six are undergoing construction right now with plans to renovate more rest areas.

How much are they costing you?

The Trouble Shooters obtained hundreds of pages of documents related to the construction of the facilities. The costs vary, from just over $1 million dollars for the two rest stops in Gillespie county to nearly $18 million dollars for the two new rest areas being built along I-45 near Huntsville.

Why is Huntsville getting an $18 million pair of rest stops?

“I don’t [know], but I can find out more about why that cost may differ more than the others,” explains Dillard.

The Hunstville price tag isn’t the only one that is getting the Trouble Shooters’ attention. In the panhandle, there are rest stops less than a 100 miles apart with hefty pricetags. Donley county’s rest areas cost $10.5 million. In the Gray/Donley counties, the two rest areas there cost taxpayers $16.8 million.

We asked how TxDoT could justify spending nearly $17 million on a remote section in the panhandle. “In some of the more heavily traveled highways… There are options available to motorists in the area,” says Dillard. “You get out in West Texas, you can travel miles and miles and miles. You don’t have those opportunities.”

Also, Dillard says those panhandle rest areas are reinforced to provide shelter from tornadoes. We asked for a breakdown of the costs for that benefit, but we were told it would be impossible to give us a price for the tornado shelters.

Another rest stop amenity that got the Trouble Shooters’ attention are two man-made lakes at rest areas in Hardeman county. The price tag for the two rest stops was $9.2 million. The price for the two lakes was $400,000.

“They’re there because we need the retention area for the water,” says Dillard of the two lakes. “They’re there because we needed fill material in one part of the property… Out there in West Texas, it’s very flat. You have to do something about the water. When it rains, where’s it gonna go?”

You’re also paying to keep these rest areas up and running. Up to $200,000 a year for landscaping, maintanance, and security at each rest stop across the state.

“Is there a process where someone says, ‘Let’s see if we can save some money instead of let’s spend all the money we have to spend here?'” I ask.

“Absolutely. What we do is we look at what are the needs for that area, for that facility,” replies Dillard. “We’re trying to stretch the dollars as much as we can.”

Those tax dollars come from your pocket by way of the federal government and the state. When it’s all said and done, based on the numbers TxDoT gave us, the cost of the rest stop projects could reach $300 million.

While this may seem an extravagant program to some, TxDoT claims this money cannot be used to maintain highways or build new ones.

“The enhancement money that we’re using to build these safety areas cannot be used on congrestion relief,” says Dillard. “It cannot be used on maintanence.”

He’s right. There are restrictions on what your tax dollars, in this case, can be used for. TxDoT says the money can only be used for projects that “enhance the transportation experience by improving cultural, historic, aesthetic and environmental aspects of our transportation infrastructure.”

So even if TxDoT wanted to put it towards existing highway projects, the agency could not do that. “We could not use enhancement money to do that. That’s correct,” affirms Dillard.

Want to let TxDoT know what you think of the rest area renovation program, click here.

To contact your state leaders, click here. You can also contact the US Representatives that represent you or the US Senators that represent you.

We also want to hear from you. Click here to link to our blog about this story.

BREAKING: House Transportation Chair Mike Krusee hatched a plan with fellow Transportation Committee member, Rep. Haggerty, to introduce an amendment to HB 3722 that would SUBSTITUTE HB 1892, with a Krusee-drafted COUNTERFEIT! Krusee found someone to ERASE our moratorium bill before it even becomes law! This occurred before many of our heroes (like Rep. Lois Kolkhorst) were even on the floor after lunch. Thank you Rep. Joe Pickett for recognizing the coup, and killing the amendment. We CANNOT let our guard down! Your vigilance is needed. Call your reps RIGHT NOW to make sure they’re not getting weak-kneed…
_______________________________

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, May 8, 2007 – In a letter to Rep. Fred Hill, Executive Director of TxDOT, Michael Behrens proclaims billions in highway projects will halt if the private toll moratorium bill HB 1892 becomes law. In an overt attempt by a state and federal agency to influence the Legislative branch of government and intimidate lawmakers into changing votes in a potential veto override, TxDOT is pulling out all the stops to ensure private companies like Spanish-based Cintra get to feed at the public trough for 50+ years. TxDOT at the direction of this Governor is attempting to lead a legislative mutiny against HB 1892.

With a veto-proof convincing vote to pass HB 1892, 139-1 in the House and 27-4 (final vote 30-1) in the Senate, the representatives of the PEOPLE of Texas have spoken. Yet the Governor who can lawfully veto the bill in protest is reaching beyond the powers given him to unduly influence the legislative process. TxDOT answers to the PEOPLE of Texas, the Legislature, not simply the Governor, and they are strictly prohibited from this sort of behavior. Their job is to implement policy, period.

“TxDOT is browbeating our legislators hoping to intimidate them into submission in an outrageous display of heavy-handed coercion that’s unprecedented by our highway department. They’ve called in the feds to threaten loss of federal highway funds, they’ve threatened to cancel even non-CDA (private toll) contracts, they’re pitting regions against one another (like Dallas versus Ft. Worth in this letter), and engaged in all sorts of arm-twisting to have their way,” says an outraged Terri Hall, Founder/Director of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF).

“Perry, the Bush Administration, and our highway agencies are more interested in representing the interests of private corporations than they are the taxpaying public. This is outright defiance against everything representative government stands for,” fumes Hall.

“With such willful misconduct, it begs the question, will the Legislature cave to the threats, and sell control of our PUBLIC highway system to foreign companies, or will they stand firm with the PEOPLE of Texas, their constituents, who have spoken with a loud, unified voice against it?” asks Hall. ”Buyer beware…the PEOPLE of Texas will not tolerate such mutiny from their ranks. We won’t soon forget paying toll homage to a foreign company for the next 50 years, and we’ll bring our wrath to the ballot box.”

Governor Perry has accepted the bill so the 10 days to veto, sign it or have it become law without his signature starts today! The deadline for action is now pushed to May 18 thanks to the Governor’s chicanery.

ACTION ALERT

The arm twisting and back room deals have begun by the Governor and his cronies like Rep. Mike Krusee, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) even though Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has told the FHWA in a letter they’re a federal agency crossing over into lobbying activities and interfering with STATE legislation. Don’t let your reps tell you there’s problems with HB 1892 and that there are potential legal conflicts with federal law regarding TxDOT oversight. The authors of the bill made certain to address these issues in the final version of the bill, that’s why the Senate recalled the bill last Monday. It’s smoke and mirrors and more game-playing by the Governor to peel off votes and used by any reps tempted to cave or broker deals.

EVERY SAN ANTONIO REP VOTED FOR THIS BILL IN ROUND 1!

CALL YOUR SENATOR AND REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT NOW and ask them respectfully but firmly to:

“Stand strong in support of HB 1892. We know the Governor is trying to make deals using other bills. We know what’s in HB 1892, and we WANT the taxpayer protections in it. NO COMPROMISES, no other bills this late in the session! You voted for HB 1892 once, we expect you to vote to override as well.”

Find out who your reps are here.

You may contact each representative by calling the Capitol switchboard: (512) 463-4630 and/or via email below:

San Antonio Area Senators:
Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, leticia.vandeputte@senate.state.tx.us
Sen. Jeff Wentworth, jeff.wentworth@senate.state.tx.us
Sen. Carlos Uresti, carlos.uresti@senate.state.tx.us
Sen. Judith Zaffirini, judith.zaffirini@senate.state.tx.us

San Antonio State Representatives:

Rep. Joe Farias, joe.farias@house.state.tx.us
Rep. David Leibowitz, david.leibowitz@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Nathan Macias, nathan.macias@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Joe Straus, joe.straus@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Joaquin Castro, joaquin.castro@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer – trey.martinezfischer@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Frank Corte – STREP123@aol.com
Rep. Ruth McClendon-Jones – ruth.mcclendon@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Jose Menendez – jose.menendez@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Robert Puente – robert.puente@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Mike Villarreal – michael.villarreal@house.state.tx.us
Rep. Edmund Kuempel – edmund.kuempel@house.state.tx.us