TxDOT and the Empty Coffers

Call me cynical, but I can't help but wonder if all of this business about TxDOT being out of money has something to do with campaigning for Proposition 12.

Things got hard for TxDOT this last session as people got more tired of toll roads and less excited about the Trans-Texas Corridor. TxDOT started a massive ad campaign about the TTC called Keep Texas Moving that cost a lot of money, and they've heavily committed to what are seemingly totally unpopular plans for roads and whatnots.

Proposition 12 allows TxDOT to borrow against general state revenue to fund roads projects, but that's as specific as it gets. What kind of projects? We're not sure. How much money? Not specified. It just opens a new avenue of project finance for TxDOT, and without enabling legislation, the details will remain fuzzy.

So, TxDOT's latest cries of financial problems seem to coincide awfully well with the upcoming Constitutional amendment election. From "Keep Texas Moving" to "We Have No Money" is a sharp dichotomy, and to me it seems like TxDOT may be playing at politics.