We endorse Kyle Biedermann for Texas House District 73. Kyle earned an ‘A’ rating from anti-toll watchdog Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom and signed onto the anti-toll pledge and legislative priorities for Texans for Toll-free Highways.
Time to oust pro-toll Doug Miller
Incumbent for Texas House District 73
Average grade on Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) Transportation and Property Rights Legislative Report Card is a ‘D-‘
Miller voted to allow (HB 1112, in 2011) unelected toll bureaucracies to keep tolls on our roads even after they’re paid for (hence perpetual taxation), and to authorize Robin Hood ’system financing’ for toll roads that take toll revenues from one corridor to pay for another so that it’s no longer the user of the road paying for the road, but stealing from Peter to pay Paul, which is socialism for roads. The bill also allows multi-leveraged debt, which is what necessitated the $1 trillion Fannie Mae mortgage bailout. So Miller approved building roads, in essence, with credit cards that’s the equivalent of taking out a second mortgage on our highway system.
Miller voted for, SB 1110 (in 2013), that heists property taxes (through appraisal increases) for transportation projects and expands the use of Transportation Reinvestment Zones (TRZ) from strictly FREEways to toll roads, rail, transit, and dedicated bike lanes. So Miller wants your local property taxes to be used to bail out toll roads that can’t pay for themselves. Don’t count on your property tax bill going down when unelected boards obligate your taxes to bail out loser toll projects for a half century.
The bill also allows unelected toll bureaucracies to grab LOCAL sales tax in the ‘zone’ for STATE highway projects. So TRZs allow state officials to pass its obligation to properly fund and maintain the state highway system onto LOCAL taxpayers while they spend our gasoline taxes on non-road uses. This is also how state and local officials do an end run around voters for bond elections and empower an unelected toll authority to issue bonds that obligate generations of Texans to pay for toll projects and other things they don’t approve of.
Miller also voted for SB 1730 (in 2013) that authorizes nearly two dozen highway projects to be sold-off to private toll operators in sweetheart deals for a half century. These public private partnership contracts erode state sovereignty over public infrastructure, permit eminent domain for private gain, allow private corporations the power to charge punitively high toll taxes without limit to use public roads, contain non-compete clauses that penalize or prohibit expansion of free routes, and dole out taxpayer money to guarantee the private firm’s losses along with other taxpayer guarantees to ensure the private developer never loses money on the deal. Such deals cost DFW commuters up to $24 a day to get to work using a 10-mile private toll lane on I-635. In fact, Miller authored an amendment (amendment #3) to sell-off SH 16 between Fredericksburg and Kerrville to one of these foreign corporations!
Miller chairs the Special Purpose District Committee that authorizes Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs). This is the primary means for private developers to gain access to eminent domain for private gain. MUDs are being used to heist land across the Hill Country, and rather than shield landowners from these abuses, Miller facilitates it. Developers reward Miller by filling his campaign coffers. That’s how he’s fueled his nasty million dollar re-election campaign.
It’s past time for Miller to get the boot!
Vote for Kyle Biedermann on May 24.
Polls are open from 7 AM – 7 PM.