LBB Delay Jeopardizes Texas State Railroad

At the close of the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature, it seemed as though the troubled Texas State Railroad would live to travel another day with the establishment of a special authority to oversee its operations and an infusion of $2 million.

However, the historic railroad has hit another roadblock and says the entire project is about to derail. Why? Because the Legislative Budget Board has yet to approve a necessary contract:

In response, the Legislature created the Texas State Railroad Authority, made up of residents appointed by the city councils of Rusk and Palestine to oversee operation of the railroad by a private operator. Funding was contingent on Legislative Budget Board approval of a contact between the railroad authority and the Parks and Wildlife Department.

It’s that approval that hasn’t been given, authority officials said.

John Barton, a spokesman for the Legislative Budget Board, said the issue is under review. State Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, the author of the bill creating the authority, said he has spoken to board officials and the funding issue is “making progress.”

The LBB is one of those mysterious creatures of Texas Government. Activists and Lege followers all know how it works, and its meetings are public, but a lot of what it does remains a mystery to most Texans, who probably don’t even realize it exists.

The question now is why hasn’t the LBB approved the contract? It could be as simple of an answer as the members haven’t all had time to review it or that there are so many such contracts which must be reviewed at the start of a fiscal year that there is simply a backlog. Or, it could be something deeper; perhaps there are issues with the contract that could prevent it from being approved. LBB Spokesman Barton’s statement is too broad to tell at this point.

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