What are you there for if not to understand what you are voting on?
MySA.com: Toll road moratorium gets overwhelming support in the House
But lawmakers won’t increase the gas tax, Krusee said later: “The Legislature doesn’t want to raise taxes.”The moratorium also is a reaction to a 156-page transportation bill that rushed through the Legislature four years ago in less than 20 days. Lawmakers didn’t fully understand the legislation that resulted in 50-year toll road contracts with private companies, Kolkhorst said.
The moratorium would not affect public toll-road authorities.
I usually pull from the very top of a piece so that everyone understands what it is we are talking about but it was the last several paragraphs that struck me.
Just quickly the piece is about a rider that was attached to one of Kolkhorst’s bills in the house. The rider is for a moratorium on toll roads until a committee can issue a report in December 2008. She filed a bill similar to the rider but it is stuck in committee because Rep. Mike Krusee opposes it. Being able to kill a bill by holding it in committee is interesting power that we might talk about at a later time but the moratorium passed 134-5. Who knows how it will fair in the Senate but it has the support of 26 of 31 senators. Now to what struck me about this piece.
You have to love the quote by Krusse saying they don’t want to raise taxes. Sure they do, they loved the $1 a pack increase they put through last year and will do similar things whenever they get the chance. Increasing revenue on the backs of those with no voice is a no-brainer for a politician and so Krusse’s quote is just sheer garbage.
The part that struck me the most and should strike you the same way is Kolkhorst saying that this is a reaction to a 156-page bill that the lawmakers didn’t fully understand. Let me just give you a second to let that sink in. They didn’t understand the legislation they voted for. We didn’t vote them into office to look pretty. Their entire purpose is to file and vote on legislation. Who cares if the bill was 156-pages long. It is their job to read and understand what they are voting about. There is no excuse for Kolkhorst and other legislators to have voted for something they didn’t understand. None.
Technorati Tags: Krusee, Kolkhorst, Texas, toll-road
Filed under: Texas Legislators, Texas Legislature, Toll Roads
I can believe that our state elected officals do not fully understand what they are voting on. Back in the early 1990’s when I was employed by the Texas Employment Commission the state legislature passed a bill that changed the stucture on how workforce development would be provided. Over the next few years after it’s passage ( and orchestrated by then Commissioner Bill Hammond) it basically placed employment services under local control, which in my opinion destroyed a good system. Some things should be run by the state. In talking to at least two state legislators, they admitted that they did not fully understand what they were voting on. Great! Destroyed a good system that is now more susceptable to local corruption and influence, and destroyed the careers of some great, dedicated state employees. But then our current political system seems more concerned about getting re-elected and retaining power and influence than in providing good legislation that benefits the people of Texas.
Sadly, I can believe it too. It just makes no sense to me. You have to wonder if they know they will become complacent when they run for office that first time and why they continue to run when they know they are complacent.