Bill to block high-speed rail from altering Texas roads heads to subcommittee
PALESTINE, Texas (KETK) — A bill authored by East Texas State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) to stop high-speed rail projects from altering state roadways has advanced to a public committee hearing.
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Harris introduced House Bill 1402 on Nov. 19, 2024. Since then, the bill has been read and referred to the House Subcommittee on Transportation Funding for a public hearing on March 31.
'HB 1402 would stop the use of your hard-earned tax dollars from being spent to alter roadways for this unwelcome project,' Harris said. 'We're one step closer to defending private property rights and protecting Texas taxpayers from this transportation debacle through HB 1402.'
H.B 1402 would amend Section 199.003. of the Texas Transportation Code to say the following:
'This state, a state agency, or a political subdivision of this state may not use public money to pay for the alteration of a roadway related to the construction of a high-speed rail project operated by a public or private entity.'
That section of the Texas Transportation Code was passed as Senate Bill 977 on Sept. 1, 2017. The bill made it illegal for the state to appropriate any money for planning, constructing, maintaining, securing, promoting or operating high-speed rail operated by a private entity.
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Texas Rail Advocates, a non-profit dedicated to promoting freight and passenger rail, rated Harris's bill as counterproductive. The nonprofit noted that the bill would prevent public funds from being used to alter roadways on the public's highspeed rail projects.
State Rep. John Bucy III, a Democrat representing Austin, has filed House Joint Resolution 58, which proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to spend money on transit-oriented projects. Texas Rail Advocates rated Bucy's resolution as productive.
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Both Harris' and Bucy's proposals are scheduled to be discussed by the House Subcommittee on Transportation Funding in room E2.014 at the Texas Capitol in Austin starting at 10 a.m. on Monday.
Texas residents can submit their own comments for all the bills and topics the subcommittee will be discussing on Monday through the House Public Comment form online. The hearing will be streamed live on the Texas House website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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