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With Transportation Bill Pulled, Is There Still Hope To Fix Texas Roads?

Eileen Pace
/
TPR

The likelihood of fixing Texas roads seems slim as Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo,a leader of transportation in the House, withdrew his bill from the floor.  

The bill would have raised the state’s registration fee $50 to help pay for roads, but that was lowered to a $15 increase as the bill was debated. 

The bill also would have taken a portion of the state’s Rainy Day Fund to help fund projects, but he said forces in the upper chambers of the capitol were secretly against him during the debate of the bill.

"You know there are other forces than the governor, but certainly the governor’s office was very active in the opposition to this bill. I think what is discouraging is hopefully we are all trying to solve a problem, that certainly is my goal, to address a need," Darby said.

Darby's plan to fix Texas transportation problems failed late Thursday night when forces outside the House chambers began working against him.

"Rather than putting members at a strong disadvantage, I elected to postpone my bill until after the session ended," Darby said.

Darby said now that his plan has been labeled "unsatisfactory" by the leadership outside the House chambers, he hopes that others will be able to come up with a new plan to solve and fix the state’s water and transportation issues.

Ryan started his radio career in 2002 working for Austin’s News Radio KLBJ-AM as a show producer for the station's organic gardening shows. This slowly evolved into a role as the morning show producer and later as the group’s executive producer.