Eagle Shale's county roads likely won't see repair money

[TexasTowelie]

AUSTIN - While $450 million in the state's proposed budget is slated to go to Eagle Ford Shale roads, likely none of that money will pay to repair the region's battered county roads that are used to keep the oil-and-gas boom alive.

The money from Texas' general revenue fund instead will go to the Texas Department of Transportation, which has said it needs between $400 million and $500 million to fix farm-to-market roads and state highways in the 23-county region.

"I have not been able to skin that cat," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Tommy Williams said this week while laying out House Bill 1025 in the Senate.

"We have 254 counties in our state, and it's not been our state policy to rebuild county roads with state dollars. I can't tell you that we were able to resolve that; I regret that we couldn't," Williams, R-The Woodlands, said.

More at http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Eagle-Shale-s-county-roads-likely-won-t-see-4547629.php?cmpid=houtexhcat .

[mbperrin]

1. As usual in Texas, business gets to use up the infrastructure, and then

the rest of us have to spend billions putting it back.

Tell you what - let's NOT put it back - I can buy a dirt bike and go shopping cross-country, but those rig moves will be hell on open ground. Maybe THEN the bastards can see the value of paying taxes, or maybe they'll just leave. I'm good either way.

But I'm tired of this corporate welfare.

[Ilsa]

2. Counties need to require these companies to

Post a big enough bond to repair the roads they are using. I wouldn't let them repair the roads, though, because we know they'll do a slacker's job. The county should repair and keep the bond money.