AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Austin's multi-billion dollar plan to deliver light rail is once again under threat from state lawmakers at the Capitol.
State Rep. Ellen Troxclair filed House Bill 3879 on Wednesday - a bill similar to one filed during the 2023 legislative session that nearly passed until it was killed at the last minute on a technicality.
"This legislation aims to close two perceived loopholes in the law – that municipalities can use tax-rate elections to fund multibillion-dollar capital projects and that there are no limits on how much a project can change once voters have spoken,” Troxclair said in a statement.
Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt is expected to file a companion bill in the Senate.
Austin's Project Connect plan was approved by voters in 2020, calling for a 20 percent increase in the city's maintenance & operations property tax rate - with those funds then being transferred annually to the Austin Transit Partnership, which will build the project.
If Troxclair's bill becomes law, local governments and local government corporations - like ATP - would be barred from using money raised through tax rate elections to repay bond debt. It would also enable taxpayers to sue to block future tax collections if the scope of a project changes significantly after voters approve it.
When voters approved Project Connect in 2020, plans called for 28 miles of light rail lines at an expected cost of $7.1 billion; since then, officials have scaled back the plans due to increasing costs, with the amount of light rail lines cut back to just 9.8 miles for roughly the same price tag.
“Austin voters overwhelmingly approved this transformative project that will reduce travel times, spur the development of much-needed housing, and generate jobs and state-wide economic benefits,” ATP executive director Greg Canally said in a statement. “The need for more local investment in our transportation infrastructure will only increase as our state and community continue to grow.”
In addition to challenges from the Legislature, Project Connect continues to face unsettled legal challenges questioning the legality of its funding model.