TX GOP Bill Would Defund Mass Transit In Blue Cities

The Texas Tribune reports:

Texas lawmakers could imperil the future of public transportation in two of the state’s largest urban areas, transit officials and advocates warn. Republican legislators are entertaining proposals to sap hundreds of millions of dollars from Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the state’s largest public transit system, and thwart the voter-approved expansion of public transportation in Austin known as Project Connect.

Texas Republicans have long been wary of investing in public transit, given the state’s cultural ties to oil and gas and automobiles — and have long pursued ways to undercut the state’s urban areas. Transportation planners warn cutting DART’s funding so drastically will hamper mobility across the entire Dallas-Fort Worth region, worsen air quality and throw a wrench in public transit plans for next year’s FIFA World Cup, when the region will host nine matches.

Read the full article. Bill author Sen. Paul Bettencourt [photo] first appeared here in 2022 when he proposed a “Florida-style” election police force. In 2023, he introduced a bill that would give the state legislature power to overturn elections in counties with more than four million residents. Only deeply blue Harris County, home to Houston, would qualify.

Republican legislators are entertaining proposals to sap hundreds of millions of dollars from Dallas Area Rapid Transit and thwart the voter-approved expansion of public transportation in Austin known as Project Connect. https://t.co/z81AOwXN64

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) April 7, 2025