Bill dubbed 'DART killer' moves out of Texas House committee
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Bill would cut DART funding by 25%
A bill in the Texas House would significantly cut DART funding. DART gets funding from 13 cities, but some member cities argue they aren’t getting equal benefits from their investment.
DALLAS - A bill that could cut 25% of the funding to Dallas Area Rapid Transit advanced out of the Texas House Transportation Committee on Tuesday.
House Bill 3187, authored by Plano Republican Rep. Matt Shaheen would pull back a quarter of the 1% sales tax revenue that generally goes to DART and allow cities to use it to fund other mobility projects like the construction and maintenance of sidewalks, hiking trails and roads.
The bill advanced out of the Transportation Committee on a 9-2 vote.
‘DART Killer’
What they're saying:
DART leaders say the bill will "dismantle" regional public transportation, kill jobs and shut out more than 100,000 riders in the region.
In a release, DART officials said the bill would bring an end to capital improvements, cut 5,800 jobs in North Texas and cut service to the region by 30%.
"This bill isn’t a tweak to funding. It’s a full-on dismantling of the DART system," Jeamy Molina, Chief Communications Officer, DART, said. "The people of North Texas voted twice to fund a unified, regional transit system. House Bill 3187 completely ignores their voice and puts the future of public transportation in jeopardy."
DART CEO Nadine Lee, during an April committee meeting, said the bill threatens the mobility, livelihood and opportunities of the communities served by public transit.
The other side:
Shaheen said the transit authority is bringing financial harm to the cities that it serves.
The lawmaker said some cities were putting in more money to the system than the services that were being provided.
"Because of DART's unwillingness to address these overpayments, I have filed House Bill 3187 that provides a legislative fix to these imbalances that DART refuses to fix," Shaheen said.
Irving City Council member Brad LaMorgese also spoke against the bill during the April hearing, saying DART doesn't serve the people in Irving that need it most.
"We just don't see the level of service," LaMorgese said. "We think we can spend that money better on transit. We think we can be more efficient with it."
DART CFO Jamie Adelman said the reallocation of the tax would break the contract with voters who approved the tax. Adelman said DART already had a way to contribute to mobility projects.
"DART's well-established and transparent financial practices help us maintain a fiscally conservative budget that keeps pace with costs and allows us to invest in sustainable regional growth and our cities' development goals," Adelman said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Carrollton, Farmers Branch call to cut DART contribution
Carrollton and Farmers Branch have joined Plano, Irving and Rowlett in approving a resolution that states they believe their sales tax contribution for DART should be reduced. DART says reducing their revenue from cities by 25 percent would have devastating consequences.
The cities of Irving, Plano, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Rowlett and University Park have passed symbolic resolutions in favor of cutting DART funding.
The system serves 13 total member cities.
What's next:
The full House must now decide if they will take up the bill.
The Source: Information on House Bill 3187 comes from the Texas Legislature. Comments made come from the April 24, 2025, Transportation Committee meeting. Information on the bill's impact on DART comes from Dallas Area Regional Transport.