Texas Bill Would Block Federal Funds for Local Rail Transit Projects
Light rail trains in downtown Dallas. Ken Hurst / Shutterstock.com
State senator with strong tea party convictions could cause more headaches for local officials.
Legislation recently introduced by a conservative Texas state senator would effectively tie the hands of local government leaders in the Lone Star State with a bill mandating that the state’s Department of Transportation, “a local governmental entity, or another political subdivision of this state may not use money provided by the Federal Transit Administration for a mass transit passenger rail project.”
State Sen. Bob Hall’s legislation, S.B. 1048, was introduced on Friday and, if approved by lawmakers during the legislative session and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, would choke off state and local government access to federal transit funding for rail projects in the state.
The cities of Austin, Dallas and Houston have embraced rail transit and have plans to expand their respective systems.
Thus far, there hasn’t been much reaction to Hall’s proposal to squeeze federal transit funding in the state.
Hall, who unseated a conservative incumbent in a Republican Party runoff election in 2014, “espouses far-right views, traffics in dark conspiracy theories and expresses a variety of tea-party antipathies,” according to a Texas Observer profile from last year.
Hall, The Texas Tribune reported, has also introduced legislation that would “choke off state and municipal funding—including money from public universities—to organizations ‘accredited by the United Nations to implement a policy that originated in the Agenda 21 plan.’” (Agenda 21 is a topic that’s the subject of plenty of conspiracy theories.)
The legislation to block federal rail funding for governments in Texas isn’t the only bill that targets municipal governance in the Lone Star State.
State Rep. Matt Rinaldi recently introduced a bill that would invalidate local laws that regulate or prohibit the use of single-serve plastic bags in retail establishments. The governor has previously expressed his frustration with such municipal regulations in places like Austin and Dallas that he sees as infringing on commerce and individual liberties.
NEXT STORY: More States Consider 'Death With Dignity' Laws