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November 16, 2017      4:56 PM

Updated: As Pickett makes a trio of requests to AG on toll roads, Lt. Gov. Patrick comes out swinging against them

“We don’t need all these different entities and RMAs and toll authorities. And the problem in Central Texas, obviously, is that they don’t talk to each other.”

Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, has filed a series of requests for AG opinions on tolls and toll roads, hoping to tee up the conversation on the issue for next session. As AG Ken Paxton mulls the requests, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Thursday said no “additional toll lanes” should be added to state’s plans.

Lawmakers appeared to have little appetite for the topic this year, but Pickett has dogged in his efforts to raise the discussion of the use of state dollars on the creation of toll lanes. His most recent request, three paragraphs filed on Nov. 9, asks whether Proposition 1 and Proposition 7 bond funds can be comingled with other funding to construct toll projects.

By Kimberly Reeves

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