Displaying items by tag: EVP Report

On Wednesday, April 10, 2013 the subcommittee on Budget Transparency and Reform of the House Appropriations Committee met to review a series of transportation funding related bills. Several different concepts had been introduced by Representative Linda Harper-Brown, Representative Drew Darby, Representative Larry Phillips, Representative Patricia Harless, and Representative Joe Pickett.

The majority of the news in this issue clearly focuses on recent actions at the State Capitol. There is mounting support from both house and senate members for passage of a new water plan. Statements have been made from both sides of the rotunda that to pass a fifty-year water plan and not fund it would be totally irresponsible.

Poised between the end of FY 2012 and the beginning of the next legislative session, I thought this would be a perfect time to review the Texas Department of Transportation letting figures over the past several years. Most of us recall that 2006 and the years preceding were excellent for highway construction in Texas. Then, in 2007, the contracts plummeted. The total statewide amount let by the commission was $2,785,000,000.

As we begin the legislative session, it is time to make sure that we have done everything possible to make sure that the legislature clearly understands the crisis facing our infrastructure. Both water and highway issues should be a top priority for everyone in Texas.