Why we support Prop 7 - even if no direct rail component
October 26th, 2015
Sure it's for roads, but there's a small asterisk. We need good roads to get us to future freight and passenger rail projects that the state legislature has been ignoring for years. One step at a time.
If voters give Texas highways a $2.75 billion annual funding boost in the November general election, Proposition 7 would increase funding for Texas' crumbling highways by a substantial amount once a sales tax threshold is reached.
A lot of the extra funding would help suburban and rural highways keep up with our rapid growth. Proposition 7 would dedicate $2.5 billion of sales and use tax revenues in Texas specifically for transportation. Additional tax revenue from motor vehicle sales and rentals would be directed to highways.
Prop 7 funds could not be used to pay off any highway debt or used for toll roads or transit. However, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle "some non-highway projects, however, could benefit, if regional officials approve. The H-GAC transportation council (Houston-Galveston) is made up of local elected leaders and the heads of transportation agencies such as the Metropolitan Transit Authority and TxDOT's Beaumont and Houston offices. Council members use a formula that divides the federal and state funds spent by the agency, which caps spending on non-highway projects, called alternative modes, to between 18 percent and 25 percent of total funds. If the Proposition 7 windfall gives officials hundreds of millions of dollars more for highways, they could restructure."
"We might be able to move those (highway projects) to the proposition side and move some of those funds to alternative modes," David Wurdlow, program manager for short-range transportation planning at H-GAC said.
All of the options, however, rely on Proposition 7 passing. We hope it does. And after the November election we sure hope our elected leaders get serious about multi-modal transportation programs in the next legislative session. You can't pour our way out of congestion with asphalt and concrete forever. Freight and passenger rail solutions must be included.
If voters give Texas highways a $2.75 billion annual funding boost in the November general election, Proposition 7 would increase funding for Texas' crumbling highways by a substantial amount once a sales tax threshold is reached.
A lot of the extra funding would help suburban and rural highways keep up with our rapid growth. Proposition 7 would dedicate $2.5 billion of sales and use tax revenues in Texas specifically for transportation. Additional tax revenue from motor vehicle sales and rentals would be directed to highways.
Prop 7 funds could not be used to pay off any highway debt or used for toll roads or transit. However, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle "some non-highway projects, however, could benefit, if regional officials approve. The H-GAC transportation council (Houston-Galveston) is made up of local elected leaders and the heads of transportation agencies such as the Metropolitan Transit Authority and TxDOT's Beaumont and Houston offices. Council members use a formula that divides the federal and state funds spent by the agency, which caps spending on non-highway projects, called alternative modes, to between 18 percent and 25 percent of total funds. If the Proposition 7 windfall gives officials hundreds of millions of dollars more for highways, they could restructure."
"We might be able to move those (highway projects) to the proposition side and move some of those funds to alternative modes," David Wurdlow, program manager for short-range transportation planning at H-GAC said.
All of the options, however, rely on Proposition 7 passing. We hope it does. And after the November election we sure hope our elected leaders get serious about multi-modal transportation programs in the next legislative session. You can't pour our way out of congestion with asphalt and concrete forever. Freight and passenger rail solutions must be included.