Are we going to let Wentworth, Uresti, Van De Putte, Zaffirini, and highway lobbyists pull our roads out SB 792 in conference committee (of course, their line is: “that was a decision of the conference committee”)? Are we going to let highway lobbyists threaten Rep. Joe Farias this way? Our senators and highway lobbyists have shown TOTAL contempt for the WILL of the PEOPLE in a sneaky dirty trick. They haven’t even made the conference committee report available online yet, therefore it hasn’t been made available to the public, until AFTER the SENATE already voted on it! If I hadn’t been in Austin working with our reps, I wouldn’t have known it, and now here it is on a blog!
Link to Express-News blog here.
By Pat Driscoll
Express-News
May 25, 2007
So is Loop 1604 included in the state’s latest proposed moratorium bill or not? If special interests get their way, it might not be.SB 792 this week mysteriously pulled an amendment that would have explicitly put Loop 1604 into a two-year moratorium on leasing toll projects to private companies.Rep. Joe Farias, D-San Antonio, who had tacked the amendment on last week, was told today that his measure wasn’t needed because it was redundant. (See “San Antonio question” in this blog.)But Farias aide Roger Garza said that wasn’t the first explanation they had heard:
About five minutes after the representative passed his amendment, we received a visit from a lobbyist who told us in no uncertain terms that, be ready for the heavens to open up because the powers that be, meaning San Antonio, were not going to stand by that amendment.So I think in the last week or so they’ve done quiet a bit of cajoling of the conferees to pull out 1604.
Garza wouldn’t give up a name.
ACTION ALERT
DEFEAT SB 792
Find out who your reps are here: here.
You can contact each representative and find out their fax numbers (also on the web) by calling the Capitol switchboard: (512) 463-4630 and/or you can email them below.
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
FOR THOSE EXTRA MAD…
Contact San Antonio Area Senators who voted to strip the 1604 amendment from the GOVERNOR’s moratorium bill:
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
CONTACT Lt. Governor David Dewhurst
He wants to be Governor, but orchestrated a COUNTERFEIT moratorium to bow to Perry and the HIGHWAY LOBBY.
Dewhurst contact info:
Via web mail form: http://www.ltgov.state.tx.us/Contact/#email
(800) 441-0373
(512) 463-0001
Fax 512.463.0677