North Texas Officials Beg for Taxpayer Dollars to Lobby for More Taxpayer Dollars

North Texas govnernment officials have already put a quarter-of-a-million dollars toward lobbying for a major transportation bill in the Texas House, but they still need more taxpayer money.

Why?

Because they've hired HillCo Partners, described by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as "one of austin's blue-ribbon lobbying firms."

This article in the Telegram said the final tab for the 13 HillCo lobbyists is "in the works," meaning hundreds of thousands more tax dollars will likely flow into the hands of individuals hired to lobby for - you guessed it! - more tax dollars.

From the Telegram article:

"Fort Worth, Arlington and the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition have agreed to pay HillCo $275,000 for its transportation lobbying efforts. The coalition and Fort Worth approved separate contracts of $100,000 each, while Arlington authorized $75,000.

The transportation coalition, composed of 38 cities and four counties, is also asking for additional payments from smaller suburban cities in what it predicts will be a hefty and costly undertaking. The bill, which will be outlined at a news conference Monday, is considered one of North Texas’ top legislative priorities.

Solicitation letters sent to member cities propose payments of $5,000 each for cities with more than 25,000 residents and $2,500 for cities with fewer. The payments can be made separately to HillCo or sent to the coalition as an "addendum" to its $100,000 contract with the firm, said Vic Suhm, the coalition’s executive director."

What does it mean for North Texas residents if this bill passes?

"Approval by the Legislature would allow voters in North Texas counties, including Tarrant, to decide from a menu of taxes and fees that would fund road improvements and a multi-county regional rail network."

This is taxpayer-funded lobbying in its most blatant form.