The background
Project Connect's development has been gradually moving forward since Austin residents in 2020 approved the light rail and rapid bus network backed by new taxes.
The rail lines pitched at that time have since been scaled down. Project Connect's first phase will now cover about half the distance, with the potential for future extensions.
The project has drawn legal challenges from locals contending that voters were misled by the more extensive original rail blueprint. Attorney Bill Aleshire, representing the plaintiffs, said "drastic changes" have been made since 2020.
Opponents also hold that Project Connect's financing plan, which relies on city property taxes transferred to a separate agency—the Austin Transit Partnership, created to manage the initiative—isn't allowed under state law.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has also weighed in against Project Connect, both through legal opinions and in court.
ATP is now seeking to validate Project Connect's financing through the legal system. Half of Project Connect's funding is anticipated from federal transit sources, matched with the local taxes that will support debt issued by ATP.
A trial to resolve those issues was scheduled for the spring, when a filing by Paxton stalled proceedings before they were fully underway.
What's happening
On Oct. 8, a state appeals court rejected Paxton's claims that had halted the trial. Paxton claimed a district court judge improperly denied his challenge over holding the trial, but the newly-established Fifteenth Court of Appeals dismissed that argument.
ATP leadership said the entity anticipates having a judge confirm its approach to Project Connect.
"We appreciate that the 15th Court of Appeals has acted quickly to dismiss the Attorney General’s meritless appeal of its baseless jurisdictional challenge, and look forward to our day in court. ATP will continue to advance Austin Light Rail with our community," Casey Burack, ATP's executive vice president for business and legal affairs, said in a statement.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, who's stated his support for the "generational" transit initiative, said this fall's appeals outcome exposed a "blatant delay tactic."
"I want this case to go to trial because the facts and the law are on our side, which is exactly why Ken Paxton wants to keep it tangled up in the legal weeds," Watson said in a social media post. "It will speak volumes about the strength of Ken Paxton’s argument if he continues to stall a decision by appealing to the Texas Supreme Court. Let’s go to trial."
Aleshire said he believes the appeals court was incorrect and that he'd be surprised if the attorney general doesn't ask for reconsideration or appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. He also said he believes the city and ATP are now "stalling" separate legal proceedings, filed this summer after the original lawsuits, to avoid any ruling on the funding process.
"The last thing that Watson wants and the Project Connect people want is a final court decision on the legality of the Project Connect tax," he said. "I think they have always harbored doubt about its legality, and they just figure they can get away with it if they can keep it from actually being teed up in court and a decision made."
What's next
It remains to be seen if Paxton will take further action after his appeal was dismissed. His office didn't respond to a request for comment as of press time.
For now, Austin's $7.1 billion transit project remains in the development stage amid federal reviews. Depending on those processes and other factors, construction is anticipated to begin in 2027 with the rail system's first phase completed in 2033.
Meanwhile, two of Project Connect's four rapid bus routes—MetroRapid—are expected to start running next year after a two-year delay.
