There may be hope yet for Austin Sen. Kirk Watson’s bill to reorganize the Capital Metro board of directors and loosen the restrictions upon the agency for minor expansions of its rail operations. Thanks to the chubbing of the voter ID bill, Watson’s actual SB 2015 appears doomed to not make the Tuesday night deadline for the House to hear general calendar items from the Senate, but it has been amended onto one of Watson’s local & consent bills, SB 1263. L&C bills don’t have to be heard in the House until Wednesday, by which time the voter ID fight should be over. The bill giving Watson’s legislation a ride would allow Cap Metro to employ fare enforcement officers.
UPDATE: Now Watson has double coverage on his bill: He also got it added as amendment last night to HB 300, the TxDOT Sunset bill, which passed the Senate.
This article appears in May 22 • 2009.