Anti-High-Speed Rail Legislation

The I-45 corridor between Houston and Dallas is one of the most heavily trafficked corridors in the state, and one of the most dangerous in the country. The high-speed train being developed by Texas Central will give Houston, North Texas and the entire state a competitive advantage over other states. No other state will be able to offer the same confluence of economic factors associated with this transformational transportation solution.

The high-speed train will make the trip between North Texas and Houston significantly faster and safer. With a 90-minute trip time, it will be much faster than traveling by car, and significantly safer — the I-45 corridor is the second-deadliest highway in the country. The technology being deployed in Texas has moved tens of billions of people safely with NO crashes or fatalities as a result of operations. This project will connect approximately half the state's population.

It will create 10,000 jobs each year during construction and an estimated 1,500 new, highly-skilled jobs. Texas Central is expected to add more than $10 billion in direct investment, $2.5 billion in tax revenues and have an economic impact of $36 billion over twenty years.

This is the third legislative session the project has been a topic. The project is being built without state appropriations or federal grant dollars. Again, lawmakers ensured no harmful legislation or onerous regulations were passed during this session to inhibit the project. There were a number of House bills that could have delayed or harmed the project, and all failed to reach the chamber floor before a key deadline. Two anti-rail measures in the Senate never moved from the Senate Transportation Committee.

The Budget Conference Committee later voted to not take the Senate rider and keep the same language from last session. That rider matches with what's already general law — no state appropriations, and the project continues to be treated like any other major transportation infrastructure project.

The City of Houston expressed opposition to all the anti-Texas Central bills.

# House Transportation Bills by Topic

# Regulation

• House Bill 1989 by Rep. Leman - requiring commissioners' court approval of proposed county road alteration for HSR construction
• House Bill 2605 by Rep. Toth - restrictions on certain state agency actions relating to HSR projects

# Construction

• House Bill 1055 by Rep. Wray - elevation of HSR tracks in certain counties
• House Bill 1369 by Rep. Harris - purchase of necessary real property for the construction of a High Speed Rail (HSR) project
• House Bill 1988 Rep. Leman - elevation of HSR tracks

# Real Estate

• House Bill 1242 by Rep. Ashby - entry onto property to survey for an HSR facility
• House Bill 1368 by Rep. Harris - option contracts to acquire real property for HSR projects
• House Bill 2716 by Rep. Leman - authorization for private entity to enter property to survey for proposed HSR

# Finance

• House Bill 709 by Rep. Wray - use of private activity bonds to finance HSR service
• House Bill 1234 by Rep. Bell - filing of a bond by a private HSR operator with TxDOT
• House Bill 1235 by Rep. Bell - issuance by a state agency of a permit for construction of HSR by a private entity

# Technology

• House Bill 1986 by Rep. Leman - compatibility of an HSR facility with multiple types of train technology