Take five minutes and email Del. Kumar Barve if you oppose high tolls, worse congestion on I-270/I-495, a multitude of negative impacts to Rockville and nearby communities, and a possible financial fiasco for Maryland. Tell him you support the “County Consent” bill (HB292) and ask him to report it out of committee to give other delegates a chance to make up their own minds about the merits of this legislation and vote.
Numbers (emails and phone calls) matter a LOT! The “County Consent” bill, SB229/HB292 has many supporters, but unless we convince the chairman, Kumar Barve, to let it out of his committee with a favorable report, it will die. Our advocates have made a very strong case for the bill, but the outcome is still uncertain. The people who want this potentially disastrous project to be fast-tracked are powerfully working against this bill.
This is why we're asking you to take action today. Email Delegate Barve and tell him you NEED his support for HB292. This is urgent! Other important ACTION ITEMS are listed below, but first please do this one!
Here's Why State Senators and Delegates Need to Pass P3 Reform Now!
with help from Citizens Against Beltway Expansion
A pair of fresh news reports vividly show why legislation is needed now to protect Maryland taxpayers, commuters, and communities from massive public-private partnership (P3) proposals, like the one to widen I-495/I-270 for $11 billion Luxury Lanes.
First, Governor Hogan appears to have been altering the P3 proposal in ways that favor Transurban, the Australian toll road giant, at the expense of Maryland taxpayers”, according to an investigative column in Maryland Matters by Ben Ross, president of the Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition.
Latest example Ross cites: the Hogan Administration quietly decided – and without General Assembly notice -- to put one firm in charge of the whole shebang instead of following through on the state's original procurement plan to have competing companies present their own plans and designs for the different toll road segments across the American Legion Bridge, over parts of I-495, and up I-270.
The sole-source contract feature is important since Transurban already has a contract to expand its I-495 Virginia tollways up to the American Legion Bridge. What's more, Transurban reportedly told investors it “would be the developer” of Maryland’s toll lanes (a claim it later walked back), Ross reports. (Transurban has spend $370,000 to lobby the Maryland legislature, according to Ross.)
For a more complete understanding of how Transurban operates, read these:
BOTTOM LINE:
If the State outsources our highways to the Australian company, Transurban, without giving our counties a seat at the table on major transportation decisions like this, we will be at Transurban’s mercy for at least 50 years. We will lose our voice on this project and many others down the line.
MORE UPDATES
Tell MoCo County Council to Protect the Planning Board I-270 Corridor Transport Study!
The County Council put off a vote on the only comprehensive study that will directly compare the toll lane project with all transit alternatives, including MARC, monorail, Red Line extension, and bus rapid transit.
Tell your county councilperson to approve the $300,000 needed for this essential Planning Board study of all transportation alternatives for the I-270 corridor.
Tell the Council this study is critical for keeping Transurban, or other for-profit tollway companies, from strangling different transportation options and forcing commuters to jam the roads and drive up future tolls. (Rush hour tolls can top $48 on I-66.)
Tell them only the planning staff has the capability to evaluate transportation plans in the context of other critical issues --environment, equity, and land use.
Tell them the planning board study will complement -- not duplicate -- a county transportation department study focused on moving vehicles.
Tell them to approve this modest $300,000 item in a budget of billions for the unbiased comparison of transportation alternatives that we desperately need to protect ourselves from the Governor's worst case Luxury Lane scenario.
Click here to send this message.
THANK YOU EVERYONE--YOUR EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS GAVE A LOT OF SUPPORT TO OUR CITIZEN LOBBYISTS IN ANNAPOLIS ON THURSDAY, FEB. 14 (KEEP IT UP!)
ACTION ITEMS
ACTION 1: EMAIL Del. Kumar Barve, Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee. Tell him you support the “County Consent” bill (HB292) and ask him to report it out of committee to give other delegates a chance to make up their own minds about the merits of this legislation and vote.
ACTION 2. Contact County Council Members to request they vote on $300,000 needed for the Planning Board’s Study of all transportation alternatives for the I-270 corridor. Details below.
ACTION 3. EMAIL Del. Kumar Barve, Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee and your other Senators and Delegates, to ask for their support of HB292/SB229 (the County Consent bill) and also these three important bills:
1. *HB1424: Public Private Partnership (P3) Process and Oversight Bill. Critically important to prevent the governor from committing Maryland to potentially disastrous P3 projects without proper transparency. Details below.
2. *HB299: To limit the taking of private property by the State (eminent domain) for P3 toll projects on I-495/I-270 (to save our homes and backyards)
3. *HB1249 - Maryland State Department of Transportation Promises Act of 2020: I-495 and I-270 Public-Private Partnership -Partnership Agreement - Requirements. This would force MDOT to keep promises made when seeking approval for P3. Details below.
ACTION 4. Watch for next week’s email for Updates, Action Items, Details, and More Good Reads – things are happening fast!
DETAILS
HB 1424 — sponsored by Del. Jared Solomon (D18), would toughen P3 oversight and reviews by adding new taxpayer protections and transparency requirements for all public-private partnership (P3) transportation proposals with enhanced protections for proposals exceeding $500 million. This bill will fix a very flawed P3 process in which just two of the three people on the Board of Public Works (Governor, State Treasurer, State Comptroller) can turn over our public land to private companies who will collect high tolls from us for 50 years.
HB 299 — sponsored by Del. Sara Love (D16) would prohibit a State agency or its designee from acquiring residential real property for a public-private partnership project that includes the addition of toll lanes on I-495 or I-270. See last week’s newsletter for more details.
HB 1249 — sponsored by Del. Marc Korman (D16) puts into statute all of the promises the Administration made to get the Comptroller's vote and the Montgomery County Executive's positive press statements. For example, local toll setting hearings; 10% or more for transit; bus access to the toll lanes for free; no taxpayer costs; etc. See last week’s newsletter for more details.
MORE GOOD READS
Chairman Kumar Barve needs to hear from you! Here are two write-ups of Thursday’s hearing on the “County Consent” bill (HB292), for which the outcome is still uncertain.
https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/traffic/supporters-opponents-of-bill-on-veto-power-over-toll-roads-cross-swords-again/
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/02/14/panel-chairman-expresses-skepticism-over-county-consent-bill/
Why Governor Hogan is in a perfect position to enrich his private business through the power of his office, and how Vaughn Stewart’s Conflict of Interest bill (HB1404) would remedy that.
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/02/09/bill-would-require-more-in-depth-financial-disclosures-from-hogan/
Two stories showing transit is being begged for all over the state!!
https://marylandreporter.com/2020/02/12/local-officials-urge-lawmakers-to-balance-transportation-spending-statewide/
and
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/02/13/we-have-to-get-things-moving-baltimore-area-leaders-urge-transit-boost/
Marylanders fear losing federal transit dollars
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/02/12/marylanders-fear-losing-federal-fight-for-public-transit-cash/
How Transurban’s contract with Virginia caused a needed bottleneck solution to go unchanged for over ten years due to Transurban’s expertly written non-compete clause. The solution was to give Transurban more contracts to build more toll roads and take more revenue that could have gone to the state of Virginia. A quote from the article:
“This issue has been on everyone’s radar for about 10 years now and the primary obstacle to doing anything was the Transurban contract,” said state Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), who along with state Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William) lobbied the governor to put the Occoquan improvement on the negotiating table. “The only way that the Occoquan bottleneck was getting fixed was through the governor negotiating with Transurban. That was the only way.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2019/02/01/how-virginias-billion-deal-with-transurban-came-about-solved-major-i-bottleneck/
OLDIES BUT GOODIES
The Post says widen Maryland highways. But who do they represent?
https://ggwash.org/view/75859/the-post-says-widen-md-highways
And how could we forget….
Maryland’s Lesson:Widen the Roads, Drivers Will Come
Washington Post, Jan. 4, 1999, about the unexpectedly quick return of congestion when I-270 was widened from 4 to 12 lanes. The construction lasted 6 years (1985-1991); the rolling parking lot was back by 1998, just 7 years later. Read here.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE ON LOBBYING DAY
Get your friends and neighbors to join our e-mail list
This is a great way for them to stay current on what’s happening with the highway project and to learn how they can help fight this boondoggle. Go to https://dontwiden270.org/get-involved to sign up. And check out our website dontwiden270.org for more information. We even have a Spanish language section with translations of key documents.
Have a Question or Comment? Want a speaker for your community?
E-mail us at contactdontwiden270@gmail.com .
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