Texas legislator seeks help for colonias

DALLAS, July 23 (UPI) -- Texas has spent millions to improve life in the makeshift colonias along the Texas-Mexico border, but some still have no running water or sewer services.

State Sen. Eddie Lucio, who authored legislation to help the estimated 500,000 who live in colonias, says progress has been made in recent years, but county officials need more authority to deal with the problem.

Colonias -- which means neighborhoods in Spanish -- have been a headache in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California since the 1950s. It began when unscrupulous developers sold cheap lots to people with little money and made promises they couldn't keep.

Texas voters authorized $175 million in bonds to build or upgrade roads in the border communities. The state authorized the issuance of the first $50 million in bonds two years ago and Gov. Rick Perry Thursday requested another $50 million.

Lucio, who authored the road funding legislation, said he would file a bill in the 2005 session to give counties the authority to impose more stringent regulations on developers who operate outside the city limits.