Roy Maynard: Early Returns

Support for a new pledge by Gov. Rick Perry, House Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst concerning transportation funding can't be full-throttle, state Sen. Kevin Eltife says.

The agreement among the state's top three leaders came in a letter to the Texas Transportation Commission dated Aug. 19:

"Our state faces significant transportation funding challenges," they wrote. "Our ability to fund needed transportation projects in the future is limited."

That's because the Texas Mobility Fund is reaching its bond capacity -- in other words, it can't finance future road work.

But that's just part of the problem. Things beyond Austin's control -- such as the state's booming population -- and things it bears the blame for -- raiding road money to pay for other items -- have combined to make things worse.

So in some ways, the accord is a positive thing, Eltife says.

"I applaud Gov. Perry, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst and Speaker Craddick taking joint action to find solutions to funding our significant transportation challenges in the state," he says. "I can say that one of the main issues throughout my district is transportation projects that are needed in every county I represent."

One point of agreement for the leaders is to stop using the gas tax for other things. The three pledge to "end the practice of funding the Department of Public Safety with gas taxes that are needed for road construction, and return to funding the DPS with general revenue."

That's something Eltife says makes sense.

"I have long advocated ending the practice of diverting gas tax funds from anything other than funding road construction," he says.

He also supports passing the necessary legislation and appropriation measures to spend the Proposition 12 bonds approved by the voters in the November 2007 constitutional election.

But he has serious reservations about the third point of agreement. Perry, Dewhurst and Craddick say they'll seek to "create a Transportation Finance Corporation or similar entity that will allow public Texas-based investment funds to invest directly in Texas transportation projects that offer a potential solid long-term return."

Eltife says that concerns him.

"I am very concerned about using our pension funds to loan money to these types of projects," he says. "This would only delay a solution to the real problem of properly funding our infrastructure improvements in this state. We have got to provide more equity or resources to the Texas Department of Transportation to fund these projects."

And paying for such projects with borrowed money is a bad idea, as well.

"I do not believe that creating more leveraged construction projects is going to solve any of our problems," he says. "Someone will have to pay those funds back with interest, and of course it will be the taxpayer."

The state should bite the bullet, he contends.

"I would prefer we put the cash needed into the system to fund these projects and not go down this road of more borrowing," he says.

"We can use the surplus for one-time injections of cash. We can index the gas tax to inflation. We can cut spending and use those funds to put money into TxDOT. There are many options we can look at to provide new revenue sources to TxDOT but I do not believe borrowing money from other funds -- particularly our pension funds -- is the right answer."

The Legislature will convene in January.

Early Returns is the political observations column of staff writer Roy Maynard, who can be reached at 903-596-6291 or at roymaynardtmt@gmail.com.

Roy Maynard
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