By Talton                                             H.C.R. No. 12
       74R758 MPC-D
                                 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, The enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of
    1-2  1990 marked a renewed commitment and resolve by the federal
    1-3  government to undertake the task of cleaning up our nation's air;
    1-4  and
    1-5        WHEREAS, While the goals of the federal Clean Air Act are
    1-6  shared by the citizens of this country, a balance must be struck
    1-7  between the steps to be taken to reduce air pollution and the
    1-8  adverse impact those steps may have on individuals, the economy,
    1-9  and government; and
   1-10        WHEREAS, Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, states
   1-11  containing a severe ozone nonattainment area must submit a state
   1-12  implementation plan requiring employers to implement programs to
   1-13  reduce work-related vehicle trips and miles traveled by employees;
   1-14  and
   1-15        WHEREAS, Employer trip reduction programs require each
   1-16  employer of 100 or more persons in nonattainment areas to increase
   1-17  average passenger occupancy per vehicle in commuting trips between
   1-18  home and the workplace during peak travel periods by not less than
   1-19  25 percent; and
   1-20        WHEREAS, Texas currently has four major metropolitan regions
   1-21  classified as nonattainment areas that may have to adhere to this
   1-22  federally mandated restriction on travel; in addition, the state
   1-23  has several near-nonattainment cities that may soon fall under the
   1-24  same provision; and
    2-1        WHEREAS, The burden of employer trip reduction requirements
    2-2  falls particularly heavily on teachers and other school district
    2-3  employees whose primary focus should be on educating our children,
    2-4  a goal that might become secondary through the imposition of
    2-5  arduous travel restrictions; and
    2-6        WHEREAS, Texas has 47 school districts located in extreme or
    2-7  severe nonattainment areas and more than 82,000 people that will be
    2-8  affected by the trip reduction mandate; and
    2-9        WHEREAS, Employer trip reduction programs will limit a
   2-10  teacher's flexibility to stay after school to work with a student,
   2-11  meet with parents, or participate in professional staff
   2-12  development, and may act as a disincentive to teacher recruitment
   2-13  because the best and brightest may choose to work elsewhere rather
   2-14  than comply with this onerous mandate; and
   2-15        WHEREAS, Such unfunded federal mandates cause increased
   2-16  administrative and other noneducational program costs, which may
   2-17  result in decreased funds for the education of children; and
   2-18        WHEREAS, School districts are unique from other employers
   2-19  because they operate only 183 days out of the 260-day work year and
   2-20  are idle during the summer months when ozone pollution levels are
   2-21  at their highest; now, therefore, be it
   2-22        RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
   2-23  hereby strongly urge the Congress of the United States to amend the
   2-24  Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to exempt school districts from
   2-25  the employee trip reduction provisions required in extreme and
   2-26  severe nonattainment areas; and, be it further
   2-27        RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
    3-1  copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
    3-2  the speaker of the house of representatives and president of the
    3-3  senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the
    3-4  Texas delegation to the congress with the request that it be
    3-5  officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the
    3-6  Congress of the United States of America.