HOUSTON – Business owners are uniting against METRO, saying one project could cost them a lot money and put people out of work.
The problem is whether METRO's proposed Uptown bus project violates a bond agreement approved by voters in 2003 to build a light rail system.
METRO has broken ground on a project that would create exclusive lanes on Post Oak Boulevard.
Critics argue that's not what voters approved, which makes the bus project illegal.
A portion of Attorney General Ken Paxton's summary, part of a five-page statement released on the matter, reads, in part: "Whether METRO's participation in the Uptown Houston Transit Project violates that contract with the voters requires the resolution of fact issues that are beyond the purview of an attorney general opinion."
While Paxton's statement concludes that it's up to a judge to decide whether the project is illegal, critics say his statement confirms that voters approved the light rail project.