Leaders at Dallas Area Rapid Transit say legislation filed in the Statehouse last week would have a “devastating economic impact” on the region if the bills become law.
The identical bills — House Bill 3187 and Senate Bill 1557 — would reduce member cities' contribution to a regional transportation authority by 25%. DART gets most of its funding from a one-cent sales and use tax from its 13 member cities, which adds up to millions of dollars.
“We can say without question that this legislation will dramatically reduce bus and rail service reliability, expansion plans, and long-term infrastructure investments,” DART Board Chair Gary Slagel said in a statement.
The bills would redirect up to a quarter of that sales tax revenue back to member cities to fund a "general mobility program." That could include sidewalk and bike trail maintenance, street light installation and drainage work.
"HB 3187 gives cities, who are paying more into the DART system than the city is receiving in services, a 25% reimbursement of hard- earned taxpayer funds for the city to use for priority transportation projects to improve mobility for its residents," the House bill's author, Republican Rep. Matt Shaheen of Plano, told KERA in a statement.
KERA has also reached out to Republican state Sen. Angela Paxton of McKinney, who, along with Sens. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) and Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton), authored the Senate version of the bill. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The legislation comes after months of conflict between DART and a group of suburban member cities — including Plano, Irving and Carrollton — that have passed resolutions in support of reducing their contributions to the agency.
Steve Stoler, spokesperson for the city of Plano, said the legislation is a response to years-long concerns from the city about “high costs and low value of services” for its residents.
“We gave them ample time to work with us on a fair and equitable solution to their spending problem,” Stoler said in an emailed statement. “When they failed to act, we had no choice but to ask our taxpayer champions in the Texas Legislature to step in on our behalf.”
He added the intent of this legislation is to correct and protect against “inequities” highlighted in a study released last September by consultant Ernst & Young that was requested by cities but paid for by DART. The report showed that Plano received only a fraction of what it paid to DART in sales and use taxes.
DART leaders had been in talks over how to keep the legislation from being filed before a February deadline set by the Regional Transportation council. The council ultimately voted this month to stay neutral in the debate.
A spokesperson for DART told KERA the potential cuts mean the agency’s budget to plan for capital projects, like the Silver Line, could be reduced by as much as half.
“These changes would dramatically reverse the upward trajectory the agency has been headed in to create a more clean, safe, and reliable system as well as the extensive plans in place to modernize the system,” Slagel said in the statement.
He added DART leadership will continue working with member cities to resolve the funding debate “without the need for state intervention.”
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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