1-1     By:  Alexander (Senate Sponsor - Cain)                H.C.R. No. 38

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House March 4, 1997;

 1-3     March 6, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State

 1-4     Affairs; March 25, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:

 1-5     Yeas 10, Nays 0; March 25, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 1-7           WHEREAS, Though Texans are faced with pressing surface

 1-8     transportation needs that require immediate attention and revenue

 1-9     to remedy existing problems and to keep pace with growing demands,

1-10     the state continues to lose money each year under the current

1-11     federal funding formula that requires the state to contribute more

1-12     to the national Highway Trust Fund than it is apportioned back; and

1-13           WHEREAS, The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act

1-14     of 1991 (ISTEA) was created to sustain and enhance a strong

1-15     national surface transportation network through the National

1-16     Highway System and to expand other programs to ensure that states'

1-17     transportation plans are intermodal, environmentally sound, and

1-18     energy efficient; and

1-19           WHEREAS, Since its passage, however, funding provisions

1-20     contained in the ISTEA have traditionally benefited some states at

1-21     the expense of others, inflicting a heavy penalty that, in Texas

1-22     alone, has cost this state millions of dollars that could have been

1-23     used to repair and augment the Texas highway system; and

1-24           WHEREAS, The expiration of ISTEA on September 30, 1997, and

1-25     the disparity in the current apportionment of highway funds have

1-26     prompted a coalition of more than 20 states, including Texas, to

1-27     join together to develop the Streamlined Transportation Efficiency

1-28     Program for the 21st Century (STEP 21); while acknowledging the

1-29     need for a broadly focused national surface transportation policy,

1-30     the program recognizes that the surface transportation needs of

1-31     each state and region differ greatly and promotes a simplified

1-32     federal surface transportation program that would significantly

1-33     benefit mobility and the national economy while giving each state

1-34     more flexibility to respond to diverse local needs; and

1-35           WHEREAS, Currently before Congress in the form of the ISTEA

1-36     Integrity Restoration Act, the STEP 21 program seeks to revise the

1-37     apportionment adjustment formula to ensure that all states receive

1-38     at least a 95 percent return on tax payments made to the Highway

1-39     Trust Fund while continuing to provide an adequate level of funding

1-40     for states with special circumstances; it would further provide

1-41     states with more autonomy to respond to their specific state and

1-42     local transportation needs, would consolidate and streamline

1-43     various federal highway programs, and would distribute new program

1-44     funds using simplified, objective criteria; and

1-45           WHEREAS, The STEP 21 proposal would bring more Texas motor

1-46     fuels tax dollars back to the state, giving state officials greater

1-47     control over where available surface transportation funds should be

1-48     spent and providing them with the flexibility to use funds from

1-49     various sources to meet Texas' transportation needs; now,

1-50     therefore, be it

1-51           RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas

1-52     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to

1-53     support the passage of the Streamlined Transportation Efficiency

1-54     Program for the 21st Century (STEP 21); and, be it further

1-55           RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas

1-56     hereby encourage the members of the Texas delegation of the

1-57     Congress of the United States to cosponsor the ISTEA Integrity

1-58     Restoration Act; and, be it further

1-59           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official

1-60     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to

1-61     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of

1-62     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of

1-63     the Texas congressional delegation with the request that this

1-64     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a

 2-1     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.

 2-2                                  * * * * *