Hays County judge forms task force after road bond thrown out in court

HAYS COUNTY, Texas - Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra has launched a transportation task force after the 2024 road bond was thrown out by a judge in June.

Becerra says the task force is "a transparent, balanced effort to help prioritize the road projects that truly serve the public".

What you can do:

Becerra is calling for three volunteers from each of the four county precincts. 

He says this is to "ensure fair representation across our rural areas, small towns, and growing cities". The volunteers will then work alongside county staff to identify which projects matter most for public safety, emergency response, and long-term infrastructure.

Those interested in volunteering can email Becerra.

Road bond thrown out by judge

Hays County road bond ruled void

A judge has struck down the 2024 Hays County road bond, ruling that the Commissioners Court violated the Texas Open Meetings Act when it called for a special election for the $440 million bond.

The backstory:

Judge Catherine Mauzy ruled in late June that the Hays County Commissioners Court violated the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) when calling a special election for the road bond. 

The $440 million bond has now been voided. The bond passed in November with 56 percent of the vote.

The Commissioners Court has also been blocked from taking any actions based on previous voter approval of the bond.

Hays County road bond

By the numbers:

The Commissioners Court unanimously approved the road bond election in August 2024.

The $440 million bond was meant to pay for nearly 32 projects split into three project types: mobility, safety and regional connectivity.

Proposition A would have also added two cents per $100 valuation to the county tax rate, except for people with an over-65 homestead exemption.

Road bond lawsuit

Timeline:

The lawsuit was filed in October 2024 and named the county, County Judge Ruben Becerra, commissioners Debbie Ingalsbe, Michelle Cohen and Walt Smith and former commissioner Lon Shell as defendants.

Shell left the court in December 2024.

The original lawsuit alleged that the court called the special election for the road bond "in blatant violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act" and that "the case concerns the failure of a governing body to disclose the subject matter of a proposed vote."

The lawsuit says that on Aug. 13, 2024, the court voted to approve an order calling for the bond election, but that the posting language had neglected to disclose the purpose of the bond, the amount or the proposed tax increase. The item had also been posted under the "Miscellaneous" section of the public notice agenda.

"Generally, all public postings for the Commissioners Court's agendas have a standard format to ensure the public is given notice about what is being discussed, grouping the agenda into categories; ‘ROADS’ being a major category on each Commissioners Court agenda posting," the lawsuit reads, adding that all three relevant postings for the bond (July 2, August 6 and August 13) were put under Miscellaneous.

The lawsuit alleged that by placing these notices under Miscellaneous, the public was "misled and not informed about the subject matter of the vote" and that "few people, outside the Commissioners Court and its road building advisors were aware that a road bond package for the November 2024 election was under consideration."

The lawsuit also stated that many of the road projects outlined in the bond package had been "actively opposed" by residents and property owners for many years and would:

• Require eminent domain of private property and homes for construction
• Harm and divide neighborhoods with pavement, noise and light pollution
• Increase traffic speeds and congestion and make roads more dangerous
• Risk the quality and quantity of groundwater due to potential impact to Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone
• Build new "greenfield" roads and/or expand roads designed primarily to serve developers with taxpayer-funded access roads