In a letter sent to governors, state legislators, and state transportation officials on Friday, Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar (
“Although we invite all financing options to be on the table as we evaluate opportunities to increase investment in our nation’s infrastructure, we strongly caution you against rushing into PPPs that do not fully protect the public interest, the integrity of the national system, and which do not constitute a sustainable national system of transportation financing,” the Chairmen wrote.
The letter expressed strong concerns over states and local authorities leasing toll facilities to private operators.
“These deals make good business sense to the companies that are investing in the projects, but we have serious concerns about whether these transactions offer a net balance of benefits for the American public,” it read.
The letter further cited the Bush Administration’s efforts to promote highway PPPs, to the point of drafting model legislation for states to adopt. The Committee is preparing a discussion paper to present its concerns in more detail and answer the Administration’s claims.
"The Committee will work to undo any state PPP agreements that do not fully protect the public interest and the integrity of the national system,” the letter read. To read the letter click the link at the bottom of this page.
5/15/2007
Congressional Leaders Warn States Against Rushing into Private Toll Road Deals
DALLASBLOG: IMPASSE ON THE TOLL ROADS
"While privatization sounds very conservative and efficient, as long as government has the “apron strings,” the resultant “crony capitalism” is seldom an improvement over government-run alternatives."
"The whole process of adopting toll roads in Texas has been at odds with citizens’ rights to know and be properly represented. The CDA’s have been under clandestine negotiation not visible to the public, or even the state auditor. The expenditures are “off budget,” contrary to the objective of balanced budgets where current spending should equal current assessment of taxation."
“It would appear that the Texas Legislature has firmly said, “No, not here in Texas.” Let us let them know that they are speaking for the majority of Texans who urge them not to waver.”
5/14/2007
STATESMAN: "Toll road compromise reached"
I say HB 1892 IS ALREADY a compromise! Texans don't want the shell game crap Mr. 39% is selling.
CONGRESSMAN LAMPSON CALLS OUT TXDOT EXTORTION AND SLAMS DOT SECRETARY OVER TEXAS TOLL ROAD INTERFERENCE
“NTTA did not bid on SH 121 because of extortion by TxDOT.”– Congressman Nick Lampson
WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Friday, and six weeks after a quadruple bypass, Congressman Nick Lampson (D-Stafford) peppered U.S. Department of Transportation ("DOT") Secretary Mary Peters with hard questions regarding DOT's interference with toll moritorium HB 1892.
The Texas Department of Transportation ("TxDOT") had recently coordinated with the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration ("FHWA"), resulting in letters to TxDOT that advocated the bill be stopped, therefor allowing our roads to be sold to private interests.
The bill now awaits a publicly acknowledged, forthcoming veto by Texas Governor Rick Perry.
"The federal government should not be interfering with Texas counties' control over their own toll roads, and more importantly, should not be interfering with any state issue, period," said Congressman Lampson. "I am pleased to be working with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on this issue so that we can protect matters that are rightfully within the jurisdiction of the Texas state legislature."
At Friday's Committee hearing, Congressman Lampson questioned Secretary Peters as to why the DOT issued multiple letters highlighting its views on this particular state legislature issue. These letters, in no uncertain terms, threatened to block federal highway funding for state roads if H.B. 1892 is implemented in its current form as passed.
"County officials are rightfully upset about the actions of Governor Perry, TxDOT, and the FHWA, and I will continue to work with them and my Texan colleagues in Congress to address their concerns in the future," added Congressman Lampson.
Read Congressman Lampson's powerful statement from the hearing HERE.
Govs pro-veto peeps get slammed by CorridorWatch.com's Linda Stall!
"HB1892 has become the hottest issue of the 2007 session. Threats to the Legislature fly out of the Governor's Office while TxDOT continues waving its arms. Is anyone listening?
Chairman Carona is working to clean-up HB1892 and keep the moratorium in law.
HB1892 hasn't been signed - or vetoed. If Senator Carona has his way the threatened veto won't happen. Instead he and others are working to use a Senate bill to "improve" provisions of HB1892. CorridorWatch is told that the 2-year moratorium and CDA buyback safeguards will remain unaffected.
Dates to watch: May 18 and May 28.
If Carona is to be successful he must move the new bill (SB792) through the Senate and House before the May 18 veto deadline for HB 1892. Until the session ends on May 28 almost anything can happen.
Federal funding threat long on drama, short on substance.
On May 9, 2007, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters confirmed in a letter to U.S. Senator Hutchison that HB1892 "can be implemented in a manner consistent with Federal Law" and "would not affect the State's eligibility for funding under the Federal-aid highway program.""
5/12/2007
ALERT: TTC RAIL PURE PORK BILL - UNLIMITED DEBT AND TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES!
RAILROADED?
by Eileen Welsome of Texas Observer
With only a couple of weeks left in the session, lawmakers are rushing to put through legislation that eventually could cost taxpayers BILLIONS of dollars. One bill that passed the House and is pending in the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee is a very brief piece of legislation, HB 3747, that would allow TxDot to use money from the general fund for the Texas Rail Relocation and Improvement Fund.
The rail relocation effort is part of TxDot’s grand scheme to build the Trans-Texas Corridor...(Read the rest of the story here)
HAYS COUNTY CITIZENS VOTE DOWN ROAD BOND SCHEME BY 52%
Congratulations to Hays County Citizens! Road Bond Proposition 1, a $172 million road bond scheme to have County taxpayers pay for unneeded state roads, has been defeated by 52%.
As reported on this blog weeks ago, these oversized, overpriced 9 million dollars a mile state roads got stopped, thanks to Citizens for Responsible Roads, Charles O'Dell, lots of hard workers and good friend Peter Stern, who said hell no and educated others about the special interest pay day scheme. The public was not part of the process that decided on what roads would be put on the ballot - even the county’s transportation department was left out of the loop.
Greedy Special Interests (Former County Commish Bill Burnett, Klotz Associates Inc.; Dannenbaum Engineering Corp.; Carter & Burgess Inc.; and Lockwood, Andrews & Newman - as Hays Future Now PAC) spent over $83,000 to try and trick voters, thirteen times as much as Citizens for Responsible Roads.
Special Interest politicos who pushed for the scam were (NEVER VOTE FOR THESE SELL OUTS) :
- Sen. Jeff Wentworth
- Rep. Patrick Rose
- Hays County Commissioner Will Conley
- Hays County Commissioner Jeff Barton.
See more details in the comments area below.
5/11/2007
Governor, lawmakers try to work out agreeable toll road legislation - threat of a special session looms.
Sen. Nichols: "If it takes a special session to get this right, I'm all for it." and read "Slouching Toward a Special Session" from the Observer.
EVIL CLOWN FRIDAY IN THE MARBLE HELL HOLE
A new bill that gives the rogue agency TxDOT more authority, HB 2268, just passed out of the House and is now heading for the Senate.
Rep. Krusee will have others hold hold up this horrible bill and claim it is a solution citizens have been asking for, but it does just the opposite and gives TxDOT MORE power to steal our land and our roads! House Bill 2268 let's TxDOT acquire land before a toll or road project is approved, before environmental studies are completed, before public hearings take place, etc. In short, it lets TxDOT lock in a route in advance, and then pretend like all the public input and research might actually change their decision.
Contact ALL Senate Transportation Committee members and tell them, “Kill HB 2268 in committee. We do not want to give TxDOT more power."
Phone the capitol and ask for each Senator 512-463-4630 (John Carona, Kirk Watson, Kim Brimer, Rodney Ellis, Robert Nichols, Florence Shapiro, Eliot Shapleigh, Jeff Wentworth, Tommy Williams). To email: firstname.lastname@senate.state.tx.us (replace with each senator's first or last name, for example 'john.carona@senate.state.tx.us')
Rick "Mr. 39%" Perry will wave a 6 page letter at his press conference Friday from the Federal Highway Administration (to compete with a good letter Hutchison extracted from Secretary Peters) in order to justify vetoing the private toll moratorium bill, HB 1892
5/10/2007
The “Take On Traffic” Con Men - More Lies for Toll Profits
the tolling freeways scam with Take on Traffic (TOT).
They call themselves a “coalition of concerned citizens”, but the profiteers from Take On Traffic (TOT) are far from your ordinary citizens, and they've spent gobs of money with a campaign intended with numerous glossy direct mail pieces to trick real citizens. They are special interest profiteers advocating for a toll plan that allow them to line their own pockets.
Who is the local toll lobby?
And, those who fund the exorbitant TOT campaign are unknown, as they hide behind loopholes in the law, so they don’t have to report where the money comes from. These charlatans are so desperate to profit off our families via the unaccountable tolls on roads we’ve already paid for - they can’t tell the truth about the numbers. Just like TxDOT, they have to fluff the numbers to sell tolls.
UPDATED: LYNDA RIFE CONTRACTS FOR TOT CAMPIAGN
TOT FUNNY NUMBERS
TOT throws out absolutely ridiculous numbers that are not anchored in any reality. TOT’s website, created by Mark Nathan (campaign manager for many freeway tollers such as Mayor Will Wynn), says “we need to find at least $12.7 Billion in funding” in the next 20 years. (that’s like $1.7 million a day!)
CAMPO once claimed $13.8 billion as the "funding gap" and then agreed $3.7 billion was a "math mistake". Then the auditor’s office chopped down the number further and said $4.9 billion isn't going to actually improve traffic.
TOT LIES IGNORE THE FACTS!
THE TOT LIE SAYS we’d have to raise our gas tax “between $1.20 and $1.77 a gallon” even after the Texas Transportation Institute report says just pennies of an indexed gas tax would be needed. The TTI report states tolls are NOT needed at all, that indexing the gas tax and placing the incremental revenue in the mobility fund to pay off bonds allows us to build the roads we need now.
Here’s just another example of the cooked up numbers from the profiteers. Actual State Comptroller’s fuel sales numbers:
730 million gallons gasoline annual in 2005
200 million gallons diesel annual in 2005
Compare the actual numbers above to TakeOnTraffic lies found at their website in a calculations link on a page called (get this) “How did we get our numbers” (I think they pulled these numbers out of their ass):
148 million gallons gasoline annual in 2006
345 million gallons gasoline annual in 2006
TakeOnTraffic significantly underestimates the revenue generation from the gas tax to scare citizens into thinking double tax tolls are needed. And they call the double tax a “user fee”, even though the tolls go directly into their pockets, and anything left over goes into slush funds. Who’s being used here?
How many hundreds of thousands of homes have they polluted with these direct mail toller lies?
WHO IS TAKE ON TRAFFIC (TOT)?
The profiteers happen to include the same old snake salesman that tried to force Phase II freeway tolls on Central Texas from the start of 2004 (Toll Lobby). TOT is the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and it looks like Capital Area Transportation Coalition (CATC) and RECA are there to support as well. TOT is working in conjunction with Sen. Kirk Watson and former leader of the Chamber, to usher in his plan B tolls/managed lanes (coming soon).
TAKE ON TRAFFIC (TOT) is made up of Road Engineering firms, Toll Road builders, Banks, Attorneys, Developers and others who profit off the freeway tolling scam:
John Langmore (TOT Spokesman, TOT Chair and Rep. Mike Krusee associate)
Gary Farmer
Bury + Partners
Carter & Burgess
Heritage Title
HNTB
Martin & Salinas Public Affairs, Inc.
Home Builders Association
JPMorganChase
Locke Liddell & Sapp
Pape-Dawson Engineers, Inc.
PBS&J
RECA
URS
Frost Bank
Jackson Walker LLP
Endeavor Real Estate Group
Temple-Inland, Inc.
Wells Fargo Bank
According to this news report John Langmore is the Chair of TOT.
Langmore played a principal role in formulating and drafting Krusee’s freeway toll bill, HB 3588. Langmore impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert to continue to rake in fat contracts, even though he has NO education in transportation planning, not even an online college course.
John Langmore was the campaign treasurer, campaign manager and PR contact for SafeRail PAC, a political action committee that had success in altering our Texas Constitution in 2005 which allows unlimited tax dollars (blank checks) and debt to be syphon for new corporate rail in the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC). State records show Zachry Construction (of Cintra Zachry), Herzog Construction, HNTB , PBS&J, Carter Burgess, Pate Engineer and TateAustin contributed to SafeRail PAC.
Will the Austin American-Statesman expose the funny numbers? You tell me. The Statesman is on the Chambers executive committee.
When will a reporter ask them where all that campaign money comes from? And, how many hundreds of thousands of dollars they have spent?
5/09/2007
TRANSPORTATION CHAIR’S MISTRESS LANDS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR TOLL ROAD CONTRACTS.
For years, the married republican State Rep. Mike Krusee, the chair of the House Transportation committee, and lobbyist Melinda Wheatley’s have had an intimate relationship.
A reliable inside source confirms today that Krusee and Wheatley are still “an item” and that Wheatley is now lobbying at one of Austin's most influential lobby firms, HillCo Partners, under the guise of a “public relations specialist” (so she can try and side-step filing more legally required lobbyist reports).
According to reports, HillCo’s J. McCartt, a former aide to Gov. Perry, has paid for many of Krusee’s travel bills. McCartt’s clients included TTC contractor Fluor Corp., Texas toll road investor Goldman Sachs (who plays all angles of tolling and selling our freeways) and the scandalous PBS&J—an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects. McCartt flew Krusee to Washington in 2005 to address a conference on public-private partnerships. McCartt also flew Krusee to Las Vegas to deliver the keynote address at a PBS&J toll summit a week after the 2005 regular session ended.
About ten (10) months ago, I filed a formal “sworn complaint” with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) on Melinda Wheatley’s failure to file legally required lobbying reports for many months and years.
I fully expected Wheatley to pay off her chronically delinquent TEC fines soon after I filed the complaint. But she did not.
KRUSEE'S MISTRESS WHEATLEY IS THE MOST WANTED LOBBYIST IN TEXAS TODAY!
Shockingly, after 10 months, the brazen Wheatley has NOT paid any of the past delinquent fines with the TEC. Not only that, but according to the TEC’s own website, she is the most wanted lobbyist in the state of Texas today! Maybe that should not be a surprise.
AG’S OFFICE SUED WHEATLEY. WHEATLEY REFUSES TO PAY DEFAULT JUDGMENT AFTER 7 YEARS.
In 1999, the Attorney General’s office sued Melinda Wheatley for failing to pay yet another TEC delinquent account from the 1990’s. The Bankruptcy and Collections division of the AG’s office won a Travis County Court judgment that includes attorney’s fees and court costs. Wheatley has refused to pay the default judgment as well as the 10% annual interest that continues to mount each year. The AG’s office tells me a personal lien is also in place but Wheatley has not reported any ownership of property in the past seven years.
The formal complaint I filed 10 months ago was finally presented to the TEC on April 13th, 2007. The complaint has yet to be resolved or dismissed and a TEC attorney says the hearing could take place soon.
HISTORY OF KRUSEE AND WHEATLEY
Melinda Wheatley and Rep. Mike Krusee began working together on education issues in the late 90’s. In 2003 Krusee became the Chair of the House Transportation Committee after former chair Joe Pickett refused to go along with the unaccountable transportation legislation Gov. Perry wanted pushed. That same year, records show Wheatley began to lobby on Transportation issues.
Over the years, the Wheatley (12/6/1967) has kept many of the details of who she works for, and how much she gets paid, a secret.
WHEATLEY’S UNIQUE INFLUENCE WITH KRUSEE EQUALS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS FOR HER TOLL ROAD CLIENTS.
Limited state records show Wheatley earned between $70k and $150k in the first two months 2005. Wheatley listed TransCore, Texas Council of Engineering Companies, Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas and City of Austin as her transportation clients.
TransCore, one of Wheatley’s many transportation clients received a multimillion dollar contract with TxDOT in Sept. 2005. The contract for eGo Plus RFID tags, branded locally as TxTag, is for 2 million tags over two years.
Another transportation client of Wheatley, the Texas Council of Engineering Companies (TCEC) included URS, HNTB, PBS&J & Carter & Burgess, Inc. All of which have received numerous multimillion dollar toll contracts.
WHEATLEY GETS NO BID CONTRACT FROM TOLL AUTHORITY
Comptroller Strayhorn’s investigative report on the freeway tolling authority shows Wheatley’s Informative Efforts, LLC, now defunct, was given a NO BID contract (see app. #5) for freeway toll road work. It was Mike Krusee’s legislation that created the freeway tolling authority.
Wheatley ignored Texas law and additional conflicts of interests when she failed to list J.P. Morgan as one of her clients in 2004. The Comptroller’s Report states:
“Informative Efforts: The principals of this public relations firm are Cathy Howell and Melinda Wheatley, who are subcontractors for Nancy Ledbetter Associates, which in turn contracts with HNTB. Their relationship with the transportation industry may represent a potential conflict of interest. Informative Efforts had a consulting arrangement with JP Morgan Securities Inc., a CTRMA contractor, and was paid a retainer fee of $7,000 per month plus expenses. The Austin office of JP Morgan Securities indicated that Informative Efforts performed lobbying work and that it was a short-term contract terminated around March 2004. Melinda Wheatley was Informative Efforts’ primary contact with JP Morgan Securities. Wheatley was listed on the 2004 Texas Ethics Commission lobby list for only one client, TransCore, a sponsor of Team Texas. This company provides services and products that enable toll authorities to manage transactions using toll tags. As such, TransCore is a potential CTRMA contractor.”How has J.P. Morgan been fairing in Krusee’s Toll Road Deals?
In 2005 the CTRMA invested $284 million in a J.P. Morgan Money Market. J.P. Morgan Securities is also part of the Cintra Trans Texas Corridor Team.
Up to $1 billion dollars of TxDOT Fund 6 bonds is controlled by J.P. Morgan Securities, which acts as the senior manager for the initial issuance. Fund 6 revenue bonds are backed by state highway revenues and anticipated federal transportation appropriations.
By refusing to file lobbyist reports, what are Wheatley (and Krusee) hiding?
What kind of partnership does Melinda Wheatley have with Mike Krusee?
Should Mike Krusee and Melinda Wheatley be investigated by the District Attorney?
Should the press ignore the fact that the House Transportation Chair’s mistress, the most wanted lobbyist in the State of Texas, has landed multi-million dollar contracts?
UPDATE AS OF 5/16/07....
TOLL ROAD LOBBY THREATENS TEXAS BLOGGER WITH LAWSUIT
In a response to a Muckraker blog article I published on 5/9/07 (see below), Hillco Partners, one of the most powerful lobby firms in Texas sent a letter to threaten me with a lawsuit. I see this threat letter as a deliberate attempt to squelch my freedom of speech by HillCo, who are connected with Rep. Mike Krusee, Gov. Rick Perry and other toll road profiteers PBS&J, Goldman Sachs and Fluor.
HILLCO PARTNERS LAWSUIT THREAT LETTER
Download and read the threat letter by clicking orange headline.
The censorship letter refers to the blog article called “TRANSPORTATION CHAIR’S MISTRESS LANDS MULTI MILLION DOLLAR TOLL ROAD CONTRACTS” (see below). It’s about Melinda Wheatley, the most wanted lobbyist in the state of Texas and her unique influence with married State Rep. Mike Krusee.
Interestingly, the HillCo Partners letter targets only one paragraph of the blog article:
“A reliable inside source confirms today that Krusee and Wheatley are still “an item” and that Wheatley is now lobbying at one of Austin's most influential lobby firms, HillCo Partners, under the guise of a “public relations specialist” (so she can try and sidestep filing more legally required lobbyist reports).”The HillCo letter, from Attorney J. Hapton Skelton of the Law offices of Skelton and Moody, says:
“This statement is false in every respect.”After we exchanged emails, I now wonder if HillCo is suggesting that my reliable source didn’t give me such information. Or, perhaps HillCo thinks my contact of two years is just an imaginary friend?
Since I received the original threat letter, I spoke with my contact again to confirm. My inside source tells me that she was told first hand that Wheatley did “work for HillCo”. Perhaps that could mean HillCo Partners, or a sister company called HillCo Media. I don’t know.
I don’t know anything more about Wheatley working with or not working with either HillCo company. What I do know is that my source has proven to be reliable - time after time.
My source also told me that they would not be surprised if Krusee and/or Wheatley complained to HillCo Partners to do something to shut me up, perhaps send a letter from an attorney.
The lawsuit threat letter does NOT deny anything else in the article. It does not deny that HillCo Partner’s J. McCartt has paid for many of Krusee’s travel bills. Nor does the letter deny that McCartt’s clients included TTC contractor Fluor Corp., Texas toll road investor Goldman Sachs (who plays all angles of tolling and selling our freeways) and the scandalous PBS&J, an engineering firm that has worked on several Texas toll road projects.
MORE ABOUT HILLCO
Aside from the numerous connections I lay out in the original article (see below) HillCo’s J. McCartt was the treasurer of a the political action committee that pushed for an amendment to finance highway construction through the Gov. Perry’s Texas Mobility Fund in 2001. One of the first pieces of the puzzle to steal and toll our freeways.
A Texas Observer report says this of HillCo Partner’s power:
“...HillCo Partners stands apart. It has an influence and reach—stretching from the statehouse to the state Supreme Court—that almost gives it the status of a shadow government.”THREAT LETTERS TO CENSOR BLOGGERS
Special interests have been known to send threat letters to bloggers to squelch our free speech.
It’s happened to me twice in two years. State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (whose unpopular freeway toll vote came the morning after her sisters contract was signed with the tolling authority) and Everett Owen (a “No Bid” Contractor with the tolling authority) both threatened to sue as a way to shut me up. Both times, my attorney told me they were both full of shit, that they were trying to shut me up. I called their bluff, and no lawsuits were filed.
Stay tuned.
How Krusee Cohort, John Langmore, Syphons Tax Dollars.
This is Attorney John H. Langmore, one of the key confidence tricksters behind the Krusee & Perry TTC Land Grab and Freeway Double Tax Tolls. Langmore is a key player for the Special Interests.Attorney John Henley Langmore (DOB 11/30/1962) was the Policy Director for the Texas House Transportation Committee during the 78th Legislative Session in 2003. Langmore played a principal role in formulating and drafting State Rep. Mike Krusse’s HB 3588, one of the most comprehensive transportation bills ever passed in the state of Texas, it completely altered the accountability of transportation projects. New powers were given as unelected bureaucratic mini-TxDOTs were created to toll already funded freeways. This “Frankenstein” law also allowed the TTC to take private land for foreign profits.
Many elected officials had no idea that 3588 was a Trojan horse. Most only skim the summary of a bill and use trust as a barometer.
Today, John Langmore continues the confidence game as he impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert to continue to bilk taxpayers for his special interest pals as well as get insider contracts for himself.
But, shockingly, Attorney Langmore has NO education in transportation planning, not even an online college course.
The snakelike Langmore has gone beyond the call of special interest duty. Since creating HB 3588, he’s slithered his way into the deep nooks and crannies of the unaccountable deals his legal language helped to create.
Langmore's SafeRail PAC Opens the Door for Looters.
Langmore was the one man band for SafeRail PAC. He was the campaign treasurer, campaign manager and PR contact for SafeRail PAC, a political action committee that had success in altering our Texas Constitution in 2005. Prop 1 in 2005 allowed unlimited tax dollars and debt to be syphon for new corporate rail in the TTC.
A quick glimpse of state records show Zachry Construction (of Cintra Zachry) gave SafeRail PAC $10,000, Herzog Construction gave $10,000, HNTB gave $6,000, PBS&J, Carter Burgess, Pate Engineer folks each gave $5,000 each.
TateAustin received over $12,000 for PR and Langmore’s SafeRail PAC spent over $32,000 on a radio buy in Houston to trick voters. Langmore contributed $471.31 in cash and $10,000 of campaign management and public relations services, sure to be repaid with thank you contracts.
The Proposition 1 constitutional amendment that Langmore helped to secure (53% to 47%) is a simple open-ended corporate subsidy scheme --- literally a blank check. Taxpayers will pay unlimited tax dollars (and generations of debt) to move private corporation rail lines into Gov. Perry's Trans Texas Corridor (and this after the governor had promised Texans that no public funds would be used for the TTC). Unaccountable people will decide how the taxpayer based rail fund will be spent, as corporations profit.
Langmore registered as a Texas lobbyist in 2005 representing Toll & Road Lobby companies such as Pate Engineering and Infrastructure Corporation of America. Pate and Langmore contributed to Krusee in 2005. Some say “that’s how the wheels stay greased”. Langmore has contributed to other politicos like Gonzalo Barrientos and Kirk Watson as well.
Is the system built for corruption and incestuous deals?
AND, how does Langmore get himself placed on every committee Krusee is not already on? He's also on the CAMPO Growth Subcommittee.
The address that Langmore submitted to the State for lobbying is interestingly the same address as Mike Weaver’s Prime Strategies, 1508 S. Lamar Blvd. Mike Weaver helped to create the local freeway tolling authority (CTRMA) and gave his own company, Prime Strategies, the first Toll Authority NO BID contract. Comptroller Strayhorn’s report shows Weaver's company billed the CTRMA for well over $600,000 from 2002 to 2005. The NO BID contract was paid for with tax dollars.
In 2006, I witnessed the special interest trio, Mike Weaver, John Langmore and Bill Burnett (former CAMPO board member who voted to toll roads we’ve already paid for) as they told Travis County Commissioners that Hays, Williamson County and two dozen other local governments across Texas are moving forward with a common sense NO TOLL option (pass through financing) while Travis must tolls on roads we’ve already paid for. The Commissioners bought it hook line and sinker.
As a very close associate of Mike Krusee, like Melinda Wheatley, Langmore cleans up on "Good Old Boy" transportation contracts. So many transportation contracts came his way, including Zachry, in 2004 that he needed to create a new business as a Transportation Consultant. He calls it “John Langmore Consulting” and it to offices out of 1508 S. Lamar Blvd. Langmore has also received toll road related marketing contracts through TateAustin, paid for with our tax dollars.
Having NO education in Transportation doesn’t stop Langmore. Hey, Mike Krusee has NO college degree, and that doesn’t stop him. Langmore is a Co-Chair of Envision Central Texas Transportation and Land Use Committee, which is now focused on planning the details of the primer for the TTC, the $1.5 Billion dollar SH 130. Mike Heiligenstein joins Langmore as a board member of ECT.
After graduating from UT’s School of Law and Graduate School of Business in 1989, John began his career working in Akin Gump’s Washington D.C. office. Langmore was Licensed in Texas in 1991 (State Bar Card Number 11922650), but, as of this year his license is inactive. Langmore had an executive role with Caterpillar in Tennessee for 11 years and a short stint as a photographer in San Antonio.
Langmore’s past also includes two (2) DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI) CONVICTIONS, at least 24 months of probation and hundreds of dollars in fines.Public records show Langmore and his wife Catherine Langmore owning 1408 Preston Ave. Austin TX 78703-1902, with an assessed value of about $500.000.
John Langmore has altered our Texas Laws and our State Constitution to where it is now legal to steal our roads, our land, our tax's and even generations of debt for the Toll Road Mafia's Personal Enrichment Program.
To this day Langmore, continues to influence where and how our tax dollars are spent, as he skims a bit for himself and impersonates a Transportation Planning Expert.
This article is part 10 of a 10 part series called “Circle of Parasites”. Freeways have never been tolled in the history of the U.S., but that doesn’t stop a close circle of self serving individuals with a long history of looking out for themselves at the expense of others.
Read the other “Circle of Parasites” articles (just click below):
1 of 10: Deadbeat Mike Heiligenstein Runs Freeway Tolling Authority
2 of 10: Two Toll Authority Board Members Refuse to Resign
3 of 10: Austin American Snakesman
4 of 10: Convicted CRIMINAL, Pete Peters, Connected to Freeway Tolls
5 of 10: Rep. Mike Krusee and Lobbyist Melinda Wheatley.
6 of 10: Ghost Organization Voted to Toll Austin Freeways
7 of 10: State Rep. Dawnna Dukes Payolla Toll Vote Ignores Constituents and Federal Law
8 of 10: County Commissioner Limmer and Convicted Criminal formally do business.
9 of 10: TxDOT Engineer, Bob Daigh: Secret Deals, Lies and a Convicted Criminal
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5/08/2007
Craddick overruled by House - Craddick Shrinks Into Chair
LAST TIME RULING OF THE CHAIR WAS APPEALED WAS 1973
5/07/2007
BREAKING NEWS: LOCAL AUTHORITY OUTBIDS CINTRA BY $833 MILLION FOR 121 FREEWAY TOLL ROAD
Tollway board bids $3.3 billion for 121 project
By JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News
PLANO - The North Texas Tollway Authority unveiled a $3.3 billion bid today to build and operate the State Highway 121 toll road, revealing a much-anticipated proposal that agency officials say is superior to the state’s tentative $2.8 billion deal with Spain-based Cintra. Read the whole story HERE.
BREAKING NEWS: KRUSEE’S GOT SOME BIG BALLS!
KRUSEE WILL
RUN IN 2008!
After Rep. Mike Krusee won his last race with only 50% of the vote, most thought he'd scurry off for a fat lobbyist job.
A very reliable inside source says House Tranpportation Chair Rep. Mike Krusee is gearing up to run in 2008. Krusee has already hired a professional to help try and side step the many minefields of the 2008 primary and general election campaigns.
Krusee just barely won his 2006 general election with only 50% of the vote. Krusee’s narrow win against a Democrat in a Republican (Williamson County) district was a real shocker. Krusee's main opponent, Karen Felthauser, had virtually no money to produce a competitive campaign.
Paul Burka of Texas Monthly had this to say about the Felthauser v Krusee race in HD 52:
"One more race to mention: Mike Krusee got 50.1% (Make that 49.72%, EOW) of the vote. He is the author and biggest defender of the highway bill that authorized toll roads throughout Texas. His Round Rock district is in the heart of the Central Texas controversy over tolling. A well financed campaign that hammered him for his support of toll roads might have taken him out. And yet, Democrats completely ignored Karen Felthauser."You can bet Krusee will have to deal with at least one well financed race, if not two. Other sharks always smell the blood in the water.
Krusee and John Langmore created Gov. Perry's HB 3588, the legislation that allows our freeways to be tolled and sold to private corporations. This double tax legislation also allows foreign companies such as Cintra to take our land (TTC). The road and land deals allow for fat profits, after taxpayer subsidize the roads and land deal schemes. Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDA’s), created by Krusee’s legislation allow the deals to be secret.
GET THIS...
In the spring of 2006, I figured we’d plant the seed and start telling the story of the “Krusee Corruption” by finding him an opponent, in hopes that a viable opponent (with money) would naturally surface to take him out in 2008.
Myself and a couple of pals in our PAC, got an unknown (with no money) to run in Krusee's 2006 Republican primary (CLICK HERE TO READ!). As a matter of fact, the opponent we found signed up just minutes before the WilCo deadline closed. On a shoestring budget we moved forward. I created her VoteBarbara.com website, flyer, ad (CLICK TO READ) and online bumperstickers hitting Krusee hard for his double tax of tolling roads we've already paid for. Our volunteers, led by Richard Reeves, delivered the flyers to thousands of District 52 homes.
With virtually no money, we got 36% of the vote! (we got 45% East of 130). I believe the work we did in the primary paid off early, with Krusee barely winning the general election by only 50%.
Proof of Krusee's growing unpopularity began in 2005. Propositions 1, 3, and 9, were all rejected by Williamson County voters. State Rep. Mike Krusee was a big proponent of all three!
The latest finacial reports shows Krusee sitting on over $360,000 of special interest dollars to fight for his seat. He’ll most probably collect another easy $200,000 and use those dollars to send direct mail, run TV, Radio and newspaper ads to lie to the voters.
Will our political action committee (People for Efficient Tranportation PAC) step up again to help take him out with volunteers work and money? Hell yes, and we get two bites at the apple! Donate today for the fight HERE.
Firms that benefit fund Hays County roads campaign
Special Interests (developers, builders and engineering firms) are spending tens of thousands of dollars to sell a $172 million road construction package on the May 12 ballot in Hays County. Hays Future Now PAC has collected over $83,000 in contributions, thirteen times as much as Citizens for Responsible Roads, who oppose the $9,000,000 dollars a mile road bond scheme that has the county paying for state roads.
Contributers to the special interest PAC include engineering firms that have already been awarded contracts on the road projects (if approved by voters): Klotz Associates Inc.; Dannenbaum Engineering Corp.; Carter & Burgess Inc.; and Lockwood, Andrews & Newman.
Former Pct. 3 Commissioner Bill Burnett, who voted to toll roads we've already paid for, is working for Dannenbaum Engineering Corp, as he did while he was working for the county, a conflict of interest. Records show Gov. Perry has received more than $150,000 from President of Dannenbaum Engineering, James D. Dannenbaum, who does road work for TxDOT.
5/06/2007
5/05/2007
QuorumReport.com Reports: MULTIPLE EFFORTS TO DELIVER TOLL ROAD MORATORIUM BILL TO GOVS OFFICE ARE UNSUCCESSFUL
by QuorumReport.com May 4, 2007 10:08 PM
Moratorium supporters checking to see if Governor for the Day, Senator Mario Gallegos can receive it on Saturday
Rep. Wayne Smith (R-Baytown) tells Quorum Report that multiple efforts to deliver HB1892, the private equity toll road moratorium bill to Governor Perry's office today were frustrated by an absent clerk. Multiple efforts to reach the clerk failed because he left early.
The urgency in delivering the bill is because the clock starts running on a gubernatorial veto when the bill is time stamped as having been received. Once the governor vetoes the bill as expected, it will be a test of legislative will to see if 2/3s actually holds to over ride the veto.
Sources in the governor's office dismiss any conspiratorial explanations and say they will receive the bill on Monday, plenty of time for both the veto and the possible over ride. Nevertheless, the delay gives the Governor and his allies an additional three days to round up votes to block the over ride.
However, an unusual wrinkle popped up this evening. Sources tell us that supporters of the bill are looking into delivering it to Senator Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) tomorrow, while he is Governor for the Day. The spot is generally considered honorary for one senator each session. It requires both the Governor and the Lt. Governor to be outside the state.
The question is whether or not Gallegos' office can receive the bill and time stamp it, therefore starting the clock running.
5/04/2007
Burka Says Texas Senators Are A Bunch of Lilly-Livered Chickenshitt Cowards!
Paul Burka, Senior Executive Editor of Texas Monthly, says his sources say Gov. Perry will veto the 2 year moratorium. Burka then forecasts the Texas Senate will not have the backbone to override the veto against Mr. 39%. Burka says the Senate will fold “like tinfoil before August.”
The following is taken from the Burka blog, as well as the dialog in the comments area. Paul Burka said:“...House Bill 1892 will not become law in its present form.
Governor Perry will veto the bill. He will never accept the primacy of the metropolitan toll authorities over Tx-DOT. I believe the Senate will fail to override the veto. Even if both houses override, however, the game is not over. Perry will call a special session on transportation. If the Legislature fails to send him a bill he can live with (which repeals the objectionable provisions of 1892), he will call another special session. And another. This is war. The Legislature can avoid the showdown by recalling 1892, in which case Perry could allow the stand-alone moratorium to become law. I don't believe the Legislature has the stomach for this fight.”Patricia Kilday Hart said:
“...I would not underestimate the strong anti-Perry sentiment in the Senate. Perry's comments yesterday about taxpayers being left out of this session's work only fueled the urge (which has existed since the HPV order) to poke a thumb in the governor's eye...”Paul Burka said:
“...Do I have a good reason to believe, after having talked to folks close to the governor, that he will veto the bill? Yes. Can I make a judgment about what the governor might do based upon my years of knowing him? I think so. On most policy issues, Perry does not really get engaged. But he has been fully engaged in transportation from the start of his governorship, and he thinks his policy is right, and he will not give in. If he keeps calling the Legislature into special session, eventually the Legislature will have to give in. This time they won't go to Ardmore. I-35 is too crowded. One more thing. Anonymous, if you want to believe that the Legislature is not allowed itself to be bullied, how many years have you been watching Texas politics? Talk is cheap in this world.
They'll crumple like tinfoil before August.”
5/03/2007
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS: What will Perry do now?
"Perry must now decide whether to stick to his toll guns and veto the bill. If he does, legislators could easily muster the 100 House votes and 21 Senate votes to override his veto, and do it well before the session ends May 28."
Yesterday's Letter to Statesman Editor
Re: April 23 article "On MoPac, a question of safety."
The Texas Department of Transportation's proposed $110 million restriping of MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) is inherently unsafe. The 8 1/2-foot wide commercial trucks routinely on the road will have just 15 inches on each side in the new lanes — just a tad wider than a regular desk ruler. Cars will have only about 2 feet. The out-of-scale TxDot renderings make the lanes look spacious.
Common sense tells us more wrecks are likely. In highway constructions zones, where TxDot reduces lanes and shoulders, the speed limits are dropped to about 45 mph. Even then, it is a white-knuckle drive while packed in that close together.
Perhaps a new name is in order — "RatPac."
STEVEN MIERL
Austin
5/02/2007
139-1: KRUSEE STANDS ALONE - MORATORIUM PASSES! -
House Bill 1892, which would restrict private toll road contracts in a variety of ways, heads to Gov. Perry's desk after passing on a 139-1 vote. The lone nay vote was State Sen. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson. While Perry may veto the bill, the Legislature would have enough time before it adjourns May 28th to override such an action.
(As reported by Austin Statesman)
bill was passed. The only dissenting vote
was cast by Rep. Mike Krusee."
– More from AP/Houston Chronicle.
message: We will not sell our transportation
system at bargain-basement prices."
– More from Dallas News.
Scandal Plagued Toll Authority Charges 12,000 Drivers for “Free” Ride
The CTRMA toll authority admitted today that 183A drivers are being overcharged.
Drivers with TxTAG’s were promised they could test drive the new 183A toll road for free this month. But now we learn over 12,000 drivers have been overcharged. Steve Pustelnyk, spokesman for the toll authority blames the overcharging on computer errors.
This overcharging is only the latest problem for the bureaucratic toll authority that has lost a lot of credibility with the community.
Years before other Phase I toll roads opened up in Austin, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority promised the public they would only be paying 15 cents a mile. But, just weeks ago the Statesman revealed sections costing as much as $1.50 a mile. Ten times the promised cost!
And Texas Comptroller’s investigative report showed the same toll authority giving out NO BID contracts to themselves and their friends. The report also found “Double Taxation Without Accountability”.
And the toll authority gave "pay off" contracts to the sister of State Representative Dawnna Dukes, the day before Dukes made a very unpopular vote to toll Austin freeways.
This also isn’t the first time the CTRMA has overcharged drivers.
With all of it’s problems the toll authority just rewarded it’s executive director, Mike “deadbeat dad” Heiligenstein, with a 25% raise!
TEXAS MONTHLY: It is 10:05 p.m. Do You Know Where Your Moratorium Is?
"Meanwhile, today House Transportation chairman Mike Krusee moved Robert Nichols' stand-alone moratorium bill out of committee, where it had been mired. Krusee, of course, is a strong advocate of Tx-DOT's policies, so this was not the unfriendly act that it seemed. If Tx-DOT has to swallow a poison pill, better the moratorium than Carona's multifaceted restrictions."
FLYING-PIG ALERT: Krusee committee passes toll road ban
By Ben Wear | Austin American Statesman | Tuesday, May 1, 2007, 03:11 PM
So, if the Legislature passes TWO bills banning private toll road contracts for two years, would the moratorium last four years?
Okay, we’re kidding and the answer to that is no. And it’s a good bet that the House Transportation Committee and its chairman state Rep. Mike Krusee were not considering that math when they unanimously passed SB 1267 today. But there could be other legislative calculations at work.
The committee convened during the noon hour around Krusee’s desk on the House floor and voted 7-0 for the bill, which would forbid the state and other Texas toll road agencies from signing long-term toll road leases until September 2009.
The bill, like the other legislation carrying the moratorium now, carries a lengthy list of exceptions. Most of them are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where Spanish toll road builder Cintra and some partners have dangled a $2.1 billion upfront payment in front of local leaders. That money, which Cintra would pay for the right to build and operate the Texas 121 toll road in Collin County for 50 years, would help pay for several other highway projects in the area. Read the rest of the article HERE.
5/01/2007
TRUTH BE TOLLED TAKES TOP AWARD!
William Molina's film, "Truth Be Tolled" (http://www.truthbetolled.com/), which chronicles Texans' strong opposition to state plans for a new network of privatized toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC), received top honors at the 40th Annual Worldfest Houston International Film Festival with a Platinum Award (out of 4,500 total submissions). The impressive list of past Remi award winners includes Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and the Coen brothers.
WorldFest is one of the oldest and largest film & video competitions in the world, with more than 4,500 category entries received from 37 countries. No awards are given in any category unless the scores from the juries are high enough to place for honors.
TxDOT Throws Away $6 Million Dollars
TxDOT Flushes Another $6 Million Dollars
Today, Gov. Perry's TxDOT is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to tear out the professionally installed trees, shrubs and other plants - because it forgot to plan for the maintenance costs, according to a Fox News report.
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Truckers’ Calls to Congress Result in Delay of Opening Mexican Border.
DOT finally listens to concerns about safety and security.
Responding to concerns repeatedly raised by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and others, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it would delay a pilot program that will open the border to 100 Mexico-based trucking companies.
The Association has been leading a campaign to make sure its members, the media and the public are aware of the risks to safety and security. So far, the DOT officials have provided no relevant details to the public on how they plan to handle those issues.
“The next step should be to carefully address where we are – the loopholes and shortcomings,” added Spencer. “The public has the right to know exactly how the DOT plans to ensure the safety and security of those who drive on our highways.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, MO, area. The Association currently has more than 152,000 members from all 50 states and Canada.
4/30/2007
Breaking News: Toll bill hits bump in the road (click to read)
Update 6:15pm: QuorumReport.com reports "SENATE PASSES CHANGES TO SEND HB 1892 BACK TO THE HOUSE. The 40-year term on 121, 161 and managed lanes on 635 were stripped from bill. Legislation is on the way back to the other chamber."
SEN. WATSON’S CONFLICT OF INTEREST EXPOSED.
Millionaire Senator Kirk Watson is found to be on the Special Interests Payroll (and His Plan for Texas Domination is Revealed).Records show that one month after Sen. Kirk Watson became chair of Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) -- an organization that directs billions of road dollars in Central Texas -- Watson was put on the payroll of special interest developers who profit from important transportation decisions.
Watson has failed to mention the conflict of interest at any CAMPO meeting and has yet to recuse himself from any vote that benefits his developer clients - who have finacial interests across Central Texas.
After months of back door meetings with CAMPO board members in 2006, and at Watson’s very first CAMPO meeting in January 2007, Watson not only became a board member, but also became chair of the all powerful organization. Also at that first meeting, Watson altered the CAMPO rules so other board members would no longer be able to place an item on the agenda - unless it is approved by Watson and his hand selected executive committee.
To summarize, within one CAMPO meeting in January, Sen. Watson became member, Chair and gatekeeper of an organization that directs billions of taxpayer transportation dollars in Central Texas.
In February 2007, only one month later, Watson registered as a lobbyist for numerous developers who will directly benefit from Watson’s chairmanship of CAMPO. Records from the City of Austin show Watson as a lobbyist for:
• Zydeco DevelopmentLast year Zydeco Development and partner Atlantis Properties announced they would double the size of their already massive Met Center Business Park (has six hotels) at Texas 71 and Riverside Drive. Zydeco tenants include General Motors Corp., Progressive insurance, Waste Management Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Marriott International Inc. Zydeco Development’s website has Diane Jaspan Librach, Rebecca Nixon, David Sheldon and Howard Yancy listed as Zydeco leadership.
• Goodnight Tract
• Second Congress, LTD
• Wells Branch Utility District
Second Congress, LTD has plans to have the tallest building in Austin by 2009. The Austonian, a 55-story, $200 million condominium tower will rise 670 feet from the ground. Construction is due to begin the summer of 2007, with the 195 luxury units, according to David Mahn, project vice president for Second Congress Ltd. Units starting at $500,000.
Goodnight Tract is most likely Terry Mitchell’s “Austin Goodnight Ranch L.P.”, which is related to Momark Development LLC. Goodnight Ranch has about 700 acres near the intersection of Slaughter Lane and I-35. Even though current traffic congestion is an issue and water is very limited, the development plan includes 4,200 homes and apartments, and 260,000 square feet of office and retail.
It’s no secret that developers, as the toll lobby, have been one of the key forces to place toll booths on roads we’ve already paid for in Central Texas. And those same developers who bought out our representatives in 2004, to ignore the 93% of the public feedback that opposed Central Texas freeway tolls, are now pushing Kirk Watson to sell us managed lanes (tolls on freeway lanes we’ve already paid for). MOPAC is the latest target for this double tax.
Developers are notorious for buying cheap land, away from city cores, and pay off our representatives to make the public foot the bill - for roads to their property. That's how the “Circle of Payola” works.
Watson stars in this popular "Circle of Payola" YouTube VIDEO.
We pay for the developers roads (or toll roads, or managed lanes) - our representatives sell out the public for fat cat pay offs - the developer gets filthy rich.
Watson is well known to be a special interest politico. Watson's back door secret deal with Intel (when he was Mayor of Austin) cost city taxpayers $7.5 million in subsidies. Intel didn’t hold up their end of the deal (didn’t finish construction of the building), left us with the “Intel shell” eye sore and ran off with $7.5 million worth of subsidies.
And, Watson’s City of Austin Prop 1, of the year 2000, diverted a whopping $67.2 million of our bond dollars, intended for free roads, into the toll roads Central Texans drive today.
And this year in the Senate, Watson has proposed many bills that benefit his special interest pals at the public’s expense. Such as Watson’s SB 1184 anti-citizen bill, which would dramatically increase the signatures needed for citizen initiated charter amendments. For example, Watson’s proposal would raise Austin's required signatures from 20,000 to 40,000, and in Houston they would need five times the signatures.
And, of course there is Watson's SB 1688 (Mike Krusee's teamed up with Watson and put up the version for the house side of the ledge) that for the first time in Texas, creates a whole new way to tax people. A tax district for people who live near toll roads. So if you live near the toll road and you don't drive on it, you still pay!
AND, WATSON'S DOMINATION AND DESTRUCTION OF TEXAS IS JUST GETTING STARTED. A recent Democratic Senatorial Campaign Commitee report mentions Watson as a possible U.S. Senator candidate.
4/27/2007
NEWSWEEK: Roads To Riches. Why investors are clamoring to take over America's highways, bridges, and airports—and why the public should be nervous
– Newsweek
THE STATESMAN SEES THE LIGHT (at least for 1 week)
The Statesman endorsed the unpopular Phase II tolls (tolls on roads we've already paid for) in 2004, and left all the heavy lifting to the public.
This week has been a turn of events.
The Statesman is doing some decent reporting on the managed (toll) lanes on Mopac, that we've been talking about for some time.
This is a great editorial from the Statesman, I'm glad they are finally taking our talking points:
"Painting new lines on the pavement to create the additional lanes means the new lanes will be narrower than most are now, and the shoulders will be all but eliminated in some stretches. Shrinking the shoulders on that heavily traveled roadway creates a dangerous situation that can be expected to lead to more crashes.and:
Anyone who drives MoPac at rush hour regularly sees vehicles on the shoulders. Some are stalled, others were involved in minor wrecks, but if they can get out of the driving lanes and onto the shoulders traffic continues to flow. Insufficient shoulders will probably mean more slowdowns, hassles, accidents and injuries.
Moving to and from the toll lanes will be nightmarish as well. With more and narrower lanes, and short distances to cross over them to enter and exit, traveling MoPac will become an even more daring dance at 60 mph in two tons of steel."
"MoPac needs to be expanded as soon as possible, but it doesn't need toll lanes.Too bad the Statesman does not always stand with the people. We'll take what we can get. They still won't print any of my letters to the editor.
HOV lanes will be just as effective, if not more so, and not incur the enmity of the driving public. Local and state officials have heard plenty from local residents incensed about the state adding tolls on roads already paid for. The MoPac proposal is another one, and wholly unnecessary."
4/26/2007
Duke of Pork meets Prince of Wales
Krusee's 'ghost' votes on bills while he's overseas.
By W. Gardner Selby
Austin American Statesman
It’s not every day a state legislator travels overseas while voting in the Texas House.
Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson County, was in London on Thursday while his votes on about 30 pieces of legislation were cast on the House floor.
It gets weirder: Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, said he'd committed to getting Krusee excused Thursday but got diverted by his cell phone fritzing out. Driver left the Capitol for a phone store, delaying his notification to a clerk that Krusee was gone.
In the meantime, Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, could be seen punching in votes for Krusee on routine final approvals of legislation.
Driver even punched in Krusee's votes a few times before his absence was announced at 2:25 p.m.
"It's basically my fault," Driver said later.
House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, said it's up to members to regulate the vote buttons on their desks. Read the rest of the article HERE
TEXAS TOLLERS AND DRUG DEALERS USE THE SAME PLAY.
WHEN DRUG DEALERS move into a fresh town, they make the rounds in poor neighborhoods giving out free samples of their seductive, poisonous wares.
When Texas tollers open up a toll road, like 183A in Central Texas, they also give it away for free, for a few weeks, hoping to get folks hooked on paying more.
