TSRT Statement on Sunset Commission Staff Report on TxDOT
6/3/2008
The following statement can be attributed to Joe Krier, chairman of Texans for Safe Reliable Transportation: “We applaud the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff’s efforts in developing several thoughtful, pro-transportation recommendations for TxDOT. Texas commuters, taxpayers and lawmakers deserve greater transparency and cooperation in transportation planning and financing. “We disagree with the Commission staff’s recommendation to create a single, short-term TxDOT Commissioner. Gutting TxDOT’s five-member citizen leadership is a recipe for less accountability and greater political and bureaucratic gridlock. “A 24-month commissioner would create a focus on short-term decision making at the expense of focus on long-term solutions. A short-term commissioner approach would also greatly undermine rural and regional representation, empower agency bureaucrats, and severely hamstring the legislative and regional cooperation. “We encourage the full Sunset Commission to recommend ways to expedite needed infrastructure improvement and streamline agency operations, not just rearrange the TxDOT organization chart. Texas is adding more people than any other state, which requires more roads and other transportation infrastructure and new transportation financing tools with greater state and local cooperation.”
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