Getting the jump on the Texas legislature: Rep Bucy pre-files two bills on passenger rail
November 13th, 2024
November 13, 2024 - TRA Newswire -
On the first day that you could file bills for the uncoming Texas legislative session, Williamson County State Representative John Bucy III got a head start on the usual blitz of bills that occur.
- One bill would allow the public to determine, through a constitutional amendment, how transportation funding is spent
- The other would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to bring high-speed rail to the I-35 travel corridor
House Joint Resolution 58 - Representative Bucy - Pre-filed on November 12, 2024
This would be a constitutional amendment that would authorize the use of money in the state highway fund for transit-oriented projects. This would be the first time the public would have a say on how transportation funding is distributed other than for highway projects.
This resolution would take the onus off of the legislature in determining the public's temperature for connecting Texas cities, primarily in the "triangle" by passenger rail. A majority of Texans surveyed in a decade-old TxDOT report showed a high-demand for intercity passenger rail service.
Should this resolution pass the legislature, it would appear on November 4, 2025 ballots.
House Bill 483 - John Bucy - Williamson County - Pre-filed November 12, 2024
This bill would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to enter into a comprehensive development agreement with a private entity to construct, maintain and operate high-speed rail service between Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio along the I-35 travel corridor. The service should reasonably be expected to reach speeds of 110 miles per hour or more.
This bill would specifically address the needs of congestion mitigation along the I-35 corridor and should not affect a current law passed by Texas legislators and signed by the governor that prohibits the use of state funds in building a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. That route, originally planned and developed by Texas Central Railway, is now being led by Amtrak with federal rail funding available from the Infrastructure bill passed by Congress.
The need for developing passenger rail along the I-35 corridor goes back several decades, with a 2011 TxDOT I-35 Corridor Advisory Committee survey showing that a majority of Texans want to see intercity train service. That survey of over 2,000 citizens showed that a majority of Texans were not opposed to using state funds to accomplish a rail corridor.
If passed by the Texas legislature and signed by Governor Abbott, this bill would take effect as of September 1, 2025. It would modify SECTION 1, Chapter 91 of the Transportation Code by amending and adding Subchapter G.
This bill may catch the attention of Brightline, the privately owned intercity passenger rail service that now operates between Miami and Orlanda International Airport and is building an intercity line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area. Brightline representatives have expressed interest in Texas in the past.
Texas Rail Advocates will study both bills and have additional information posted at a later time.
For legislative updates on rail bills, visit our Under The Dome page https://texasrailadvocates.org/issues/2025-texas-legislature-rail-issues