BREAKING: YCT supports Texans for Traffic Relief’s legislative reform proposal – Toll Payer Protection Act (TPPA)
Young Conservatives of Texas Announces Support for Toll Payer Protection Act
Commonsense reforms strengthen taxpayer protections and increase participation in process
Today, Young Conservatives of Texas announce their enthusiastic support for Texans for Traffic Relief’s legislative reform proposal entitled the Toll Payer Protection Act (TPPA), which requires that no new toll projects be constructed in the state of Texas without the following accountability measures firmly in place:
1. No government entity should ever construct or fund construction of toll roads without voter approval.
2. Toll billing, regardless of the entity responsible, must be transparent, accurate, and exorbitant administration fees must be capped.
3. To avoid perpetual tolling, tolls should come off the road when the project costs are paid back.
4. No tolling on existing lanes should ever be allowed.
5. Proposition 1 and 7 funds should never be used to subsidize a toll lane.
The basis of the TPPA is a commitment to improving taxpayer protections and potentially improving transportation infrastructure by increasing local participation and project buy-in without raising taxes. YCT supports this new path forward over the current transportation planning system. “Whether it’s at the state level or with a regional tolling authority, the system today allows for construction of new toll roads anywhere in Texas just by the push of a button by bureaucrats,” said Caroline Chadwick, state chairman of YCT. “With the reforms in place of the Toll Payer Protection Act, local voters would be put in control of that button. I trust the people sitting in traffic every day to make the best decisions for improving their lives and commutes on these kinds of projects.” YCT emphatically encourages legislators to support the TPPA in the next legislative session and put these reforms into law.