A bill filed Monday in the Texas Senate would significantly change the rules for private toll road contracts. Authored by Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, the bill would do a number of things:
* Public tolling authorities, such as the North Texas Tollway Authority, would have first-crack at developing all toll roads within their jurisdictions, a requirement for so-called “primacy” that is part of the temporary law passed in 2007. Without action this session, the provision would expire later this year. Gov. Rick Perry has said previously he won’t go to war over the issue, though supporters of privatization have argued against giving public agencies an advantage over their private counterparts.
* Private toll contracts would also be unable to restrict the state’s expansion of interstates, no matter what impact such work would have on the toll project. Any non-compete clauses that do end up in a contract would be limited to 30 years after the road is built, instead of the 50-year terms now included.
* Finally, the bill, which Nichols says is co-sponsored by Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, would also require that any contract with a private toll road developer stipulate exactly how both sides would determine a so-called buy-back price, should the state ever desire to end the contract. Currently, the contracts include only the requirement that the state pay market value, but don’t specify how that figure would be determined.
See the jump for the full press release from Nichols.
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