AUSTIN, Texas — In the latest move by opponents of high speed rail in Texas, a state legislator has introduced a bill that to prevent state and local funding to alter roadways to accommodate high speed projects.
House Bill 1402 was introduced by Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine). It would amend a law passed in 2017 that prohibits any state money for planning, constructing, operating, or other activities of a high-speed rail line operated by a private entity.
Houston Public Media reports that Harris told a March 31 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Transportation Funding that the bill was intended to oppose the Houston-Dallas high speed project launched by Texas Central. The project is now being explored by Amtrak [see “Amtrak begins process to find partner …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 27, 2025].
Waller County Judge Trey Duhon, the president of Texans Against High Speed Rail, told the hearing that the bill “will protect state money and ensure that public funds throughout the state are safeguarded from being wasted on a washed-up, overhyped, underfunded, bait-and-switch, high-speed rail project.” Duhon’s group took Texas Central to court over its use of eminent domain to gain land for the project; the state Supreme Court eventually ruled for Texas Central, but by then the company was essentially defunct [see “State Supreme Court affirms Texas Central’s right …,” News Wire, June 27, 2022].
Andy Jent, representing Texas Central and new CEO John Kleinheinz, said the company was not seeking taxpayer funds and would have less impact than interstate highway projects. In response to questioning, he said the company only had about 25% of the necessary land and is not fully financed. “We’re not asking the taxpayers to pay for this project right now,” Jent said. “What we’re saying is we have to ultimately partner with the state of Texas and with [the Texas Department of Transportation] to figure this out.
The committee took no action on the bill following the hearing.
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