OOIDA Call to Action - Texas Members
March 9, 2007

Attention: Texas truckers. Texas lawmakers have introduced bills in the state Senate and House to disrupt proposals for privatized toll roads – including the Trans-Texas Corridor.

It is extremely important to voice your support now for this legislation.

State Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, filed two bills less than a week after a public hearing by the Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor and privatized highways. The legislation limits the state in terms of private-sector involvement in toll roads.

The first bill – SB1267 – calls for a two-year moratorium on contracts for privately built toll roads and the creation of a study group to evaluate the long-term effects of privatization. The second bill – SB1268 – calls for the state to prohibit converting existing roads to toll roads.

Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, filed HB2772 – the companion bill to SB1267 – in the Texas House of Representatives.

Supporters believe passing this legislation would be a huge victory for Texans.

Among those supports are members of a grassroots organization called Corridor Watch. On that group’s Web site there is a breakdown of which Texas lawmakers are for and which lawmakers are against the bills described above. By clicking on the individual lawmakers’ names on the Corridor Watch Web site, you can send your comments supporting the legislation directly to the people who will decide its fate.