Bill that would redirect DART funding advances to Texas House floor

A bill that would redirect funding for public transit across North Texas is one step closer to becoming law.

Texas House Bill 1378 was voted out of committee Tuesday, progressing to the House floor.

The bill originated in Collin County and is based on a dispute over which of DART’s 13 member cities benefits.

Every day, Dallas Area Rapid Transit reports it moves an estimated 220,000 people between home, work, and wherever they need to go.

But under a new bill, proposed by Collin County Rep. Matt Shaheen, DART said it would have to slash service by 30%.

“You have member cities that are way overpaying into DART and they're receiving a fraction in services,” said Rep. Shaheen.

As an example, Shaheen points to Plano.

A report commissioned by the legislature found that it pays over $100 million to DART in exchange for just $45 million in services.

Shaheen argues that’s why DART member cities should be given the option to lower their 1-cent dedicated sales tax contribution by 25%.

“There’s no mincing words anymore. HB 3187 kills DART,” said DART Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Jeamy Molina.

Molina said the move would be detrimental, eliminating 5,800 jobs in the first year and increasing wait times from 15 to 30 or even 45 minutes.

She said the new Silver Line, which is planned to run 60 trips a day, would drop to just one round trip.

“We will start seeing a reduction immediately in ridership. Reduction in ridership means fewer funds, means everything that we've worked for over the past couple of years just goes to waste,” she said.

President and CEO of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, Harrison Blair, rides the rail himself.

“I give DART $192 every month, so that I can get to all these major cities and I can work on the way,” he said.

Blair believes the move would hamper economic development.

“People can’t make money, businesses can’t make money if they can’t get people to them, and we have all these major events that are coming to the region in 2026, like the FIFA World Cup. One match is like a Super Bowl.”

Critics say those opportunities could be lost should the bill become law.

Shaheen said he’s just pushing to make things more equitable among the communities that invest in DART while advancing what he believes is a long-overdue conversation.

“If DART would just sit down, be transparent, and treat their member cities as customers, just sit down and negotiate an item, the Legislature wouldn't have to step in and do anything,” he said.