Small turnout at the DFW Chapter meeting last night. The core membership regulars showed up and Elmer McKeeghan finally got the meeting underway shortly after the scheduled time.. The main topics for discussion were the Amendments which have been offered to the Constitution.. Seems like our legislators can't pass legislation during session, unless it is such important issues like selecting the "State Dog of Texas".. etc.. Not to worry, the wretched bills that can't be passed will be offered as Constitutional Amendments.. What ? Just one of these screwball bills is the Railroad Relocation and Improvement Bill.. FYI.. railroads lobbied Legislature for years to isolate control or oversight from the State .. Their arguments were to the effect that, the tracks were sole property of the Railroad companies and used only by them.. hmmm.. That's true.. They own them and they own the locomotives which run on them.. Here's where it gets sticky.. They are going to the taxpayer trough to relocate, repair and improve those same tracks .. The first time they went to that trough, they asked the government to condemn private property so they could lay those tracks across private land.. OK.. The tracks were laid and the State applied the standards of maintainance, repair and improvement to accomodate public safety.. After years of minimal repair and maintainance to meet State requirements, the Railroads again went to our Legislature to eleminate oversight by the State.. They got it.. Now .. they are back .. yet, again.. This time .. they are trying to get taxpayer money for relocation, repair and improvement of those tracks.. Are those guys in the Railroad business, or NOT ? If so.. why are the Texas taxpayers having to finance and re-finance the backbone of their systems to keep them in business. Their legislative Bills don't have the merit to be passed into legislation and they hit the backdoor to incorporate those Bills as Amendments to the Texas Constitution.. Taxpayers have already been burdened with repayment of the government secured loans to the Airline industries, while the companies use the revolving doors of bankruptcy, to dodge and evade paying their employees their negotiated wages, retirement benefits and the corporate taxes on doing business.. Bill Walker Irving
