On Redstate?

New Ad for Kay Bailout Hutchison
While Rick Perry won’t say if he supports the Trans-Texas Corridor, his administration and his websites are still touting it as an “achievement.” Either Rick Perry won’t say where he stands because he doesn’t care what the people of Texas think, or because it’s just too politically hard to say and he doesn’t have the courage to stand up for what he believes in.

Perry owes Texans an answer on the Trans-Texas Corridor. While he may still think it’s a good idea, for Texas ranchers and farmers, the Trans-Texas Corridor represents a threat not only to their family’s legacies but their way of life. Join with Kay in demanding the protection of property rights, and that Rick Perry give the people of Texas a straight answer on if he supports the TTC, and if so why!

We need results, not politics.

Oh, really? Where does Kay “Bailout” get her info?

Trans Texas Corridor is dead, TxDOT says

After six years of bold plans, big talk and fierce pushback, the Texas Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that the Trans-Texas Corridor is dead, burying with it Gov. Rick Perry’s visionary but controversial idea to string the state together with some 4,000 miles of highways, toll roads and rail lines.

“Make no mistake: The Trans-Texas Corridor as we have known it no longer exists,” TxDOT executive director Amadeo Saenz said in a speech at an annual transportation conference. In its place will be a smaller, more deliberate plan that assesses individually each of the scores of projects once lumped together as part of the TTC.

And when TxDOT announced the TTC could take 1,200 feet of right-of-way through the length of Texas, rural landowners rebelled too, making the project one of the most controversial in modern Texas history. The issue dogged Perry throughout his 2006 re-election campaign and helped unite increasingly furious lawmakers, who in 2007 attempted to slow, but not kill, the project.

TxDOT, by its own admission, at first turned a deaf ear to the criticism. But in the past 18 months, it has spent hundreds of hours at dozens of public hearings trying to appease its critics. The crowds remained almost universally hostile.

The same lawmakers who were so angry in 2007 return to Austin next week for the 2009 session, and Tuesday’s announcement by TxDOT chief Saenz showed that neither his agency nor the governor – whose staff was involved in the decision to kill the TTC – want to wage the same fight all over again.

“The Legislature has been clear; they want transformation,” Saenz said. “That handwriting is on the wall, in big bold letters.”

TxDOT Website

Trans-Texas Corridor
The transformation of the Trans-Texas Corridor has changed from its original concept.
While ongoing I-69/TTC and TTC-35 environmental studies will continue, the efforts will only be to establish study areas for future multi-modal projects that may be needed in those areas. Future mobility improvements will be based on transportation needs and the focus will be on individual projects tailored to those needs.
Other changes include phasing out the Trans-Texas Corridor name and identifying projects by their original names.Another significant change is for project widths to be closer to 600 feet.

Rick Perry talks about Texas infrastructure

“Businesses will not move to Texas if they

think they cannot move their products or their

people efficiently or effectively.” – Rick Perry

Welcoming new jobs to Texas

Fri, 08/28/2009 -Thursday afternoon, Toyota announced that it was moving its Tacoma truck production facility to San Antonio, Texas, resulting in more than 1,100 new jobs for Texas. This move by Toyota follows major job announcements this year by Caterpillar, Medtronic, and Farouk Systems, which are all moving operations to Texas.

Governor Perry commented on Toyota’s decision:

“Today’s announcement reflects the depth of the ties between Toyota and Texas while underscoring the strength of our state’s workforce and job climate. Even in the midst of a national economic downturn, major employers continue to bring jobs and investment in Texas.

“While we are sympathetic to the hardship of the NUMMI workers in California, we know that Texans will continue to benefit from policies we’ve pursued that have made our state so attractive to employers.

“Following on the heels of major jobs announcements from Caterpillar, Farouk Systems, Medtronic and other employers, the good news from Toyota affirms my unshakeable belief that Texas is the best place to do business.”

Major companies are moving to Texas, even in this tough economic environment, because Texas has kept spending in check, taxes low, regulations fair and predictable, and has prevented oversuing through lawsuit reform.

Help keep Texas on the right track. Re-elect Governor Perry.

Business Leaders Agree: Perry is Right for Texas

Thu, 08/27/2009
Economists all over the nation and world have recently tipped their hats to Texas and Governor Rick Perry. In the midst of a tough national economy, Texas has shined through as a beacon of prosperity and opportunity.

Thomas O. Hicks, CEO of Hicks Holdings LLC in Dallas, wrote an op-ed for the Dallas Morning News echoing such praises which have also been featured in publications like the Wall Street Journal.

Hicks writes: “The State has implemented public policies that make Texas economically competitive. Unlike other states, Texas has kept spending in check and maintained a low tax burden. In addition, Texas has enacted tort reforms and minimized regulations that strangle innovation.”

Because of a commitment to low taxes, predictable regulations and job creation incentives, in 2008 more than half the jobs created nationally were created in Texas. The Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF), created under Gov. Perry in 2003 and the largest job creation fund of its kind in the nation, is an essential component to Texas’ economic strength and one of its most competitive tools to recruit and bolster business. To date, the TEF has attracted more than $14 billion in capital investment and generated more than 55,500 jobs.

The Texas success story is setting an example for the rest of the nation to follow. With your continued support, we can continue to spread Governor Perry’s conservative vision and keep Texas on the right track.