House Bill 74 to Create Puerto Verde Port Authority District Passed by Texas House of Representatives, Now Pending Before Texas Senate (Opinion)
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2025
The Texas House of Representative Bill 74, the brainchild of State Representative Heriberto “Eddie” Morales, Jr., to create the Puerto Verde Port Authority District in Maverick County, Texas has quietly passed the House of Representatives on May 8, 2025 and is now before the Texas Senate awaiting action for approval or disapproval.
State Representative Morales has been relatively quiet on the passing of HB 74 by the House of Representatives, not updating his constituents on the status of the bill, but has been working hard in the 89th Texas Legislative Session to persuade Texas Senators to approve HB 74 before the end of the Legislative Session on June 2, 2025.
Based on information reported by anonymous sources close to the intense lobbying efforts ongoing at the Texas State Capitol by Representative Morales and the Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC investors led by President and CEO Ruben Garibay and their team of lawyers and lobbyists, there are some Texas Senators who have questioned the merits of HB 74 and its feasibility and impact upon Eagle Pass and Maverick County. Morales and the Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC team are seeking to have HB 74 heard in the Texas Senate Transportation Committee for approval before the June 2 Legislative Session deadline.
While Morales’ HB 74 sailed through the House of Representatives smoothly despite some opposition from local community citizens, the same has not been the case before the Texas Senate where new stakeholders have opposed the approval of HB 74 such as the City of Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, Jr., Union Pacific Railroad, Eagle Pass Border Coalition, Western Maverick County Committee, The Border Organization and its leaders Graciela Maldonado, Alicia Gonzalez, Diana Hardt, Laura Sanchez, Alfredo Sanchez, Sandra Fuentes, and Jose Lira, Texas Pacuache Native American Nation and Chairwoman Maria Torres, Maverick County Environmental and Public Health Association, Enriqueta Diaz, Gloria Hernandez, and other local entities and citizens who have forwarded written letters and made telephone calls to Texas Senators expressing their opposition to HB 74.
With only 12 days remaining in the 89th Texas Legislative Session, a fierce lobbying battle is taking place before the Texas Senate to hear Morales’ HB 74 in the Senate Transportation Committee before the end of the session; otherwise, HB 74 will not be approved and die without being considered and approved in a Committee hearing prior to being submitted to the full Senate for an up or down vote.
Morales’ HB 74 proposes to create and establish a governmental entity to be called PUERTO VERDE PORT AUTHORITY DISTRICT with authority to impose assessments, fees, taxes, granting a limited power of eminent domain, create Tax Increment Investment Zones (TIRZs), and grant Tax Abatements for a total of four privately-owned real properties encompassing 3,322 acres in Maverick County, Texas. The quasi-public governmental entity will be controlled by a Board of Directors of five hand-picked members by Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC’s President and CEO Ruben Garibay composed of Ruben Garibay, David Higgerson, Bobby Babcock, Rob Russell, and Benito Martinez, III. Three of the four private properties within the Port Authority District are owned by Farming Hydrosource, LLC and the fourth property is owned by Maverick Heavy Cast and Haul, LLC.
HB 74 if approved would be the greatest transfer of public wealth in the history of Maverick County as the newly-created governmental entity and its private owners will have access to all the financial and legal programs available to governmental entities such as eminent domain, borrowing money to pay for the development and construction of the multi-use real estate project and its infrastructure through certificates of obligations (bonds), issue tax abatements to selected entities or individuals within the Port Authority District, assess taxes, fees and assessments to property owners within the district, approve rules and regulations to manage the Port Authority District, approve contracts and conduct business with anyone concerning the business of the Port Authority District, borrow money or finance the development and construction of the two international bridges they seek to build, including the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge and the Green Eagle Railroad Bridge and Line, request fire protection from either the City of Eagle Pass or Maverick County, or, alternatively create their own fire and police departments, request tax abatements and discounted ad valorem taxes from the City of Eagle Pass and/or Maverick County, and all pertinent benefits associated with a public governmental entity.
If approved by the Texas Senate and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, HB 74 would potentially provide private investors carte blanche powers of a public governmental entity with extraordinary access to the public finance system to pay for their development and construction of two international bridges and a 3,322 acres multi-use real estate economic development project. A conservative estimate of the private sector value of such a Port Authority District once completely developed in a 10 to 30 year period might be worth between $3 to $10 Billion to the private investors, plus retain the profits from their privately-owned businesses within the Port Authority District in perpetuity. HB 74 is a private investor’s dream come true.
According to members of The Border Organization and Eagle Pass Border Coalition whom have personally met with and interviewed Maverick County Judge Ramsey English Cantu and Maverick County Commissioners Roberto Ruiz, Olga Ramos, Roxanna Rios, and Gerardo Morales there is incredulously no written agreement between Maverick County and Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC concerning what are the economic and financial benefits to Maverick County taxpayers for endorsing the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge Project owned by Puerto Verde Holdigns, LLC. in obtaining the Presidential Permits for the two proposed international bridges in Seco Mines and Hopedale areas of Eagle Pass within Maverick County.
The City of Eagle Pass and Maverick County governmental entities and taxpayers might be asked to pay for part or some of the increased labor and services required to provide public services to such a large 3,322 acre private real estate multi-use development masquerading as a quasi-public governmental entity.
Eagle Passans and Maverick Countians are anxiously awaiting to see if the Texas Senate will approve or disapprove HB 74 before the close of the 89th Legislative Session on June 2, 2025. Stay tuned.
