1-1 By: Ehrhardt (Senate Sponsor - West) H.C.R. No. 94 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 3, 1997; 1-3 April 8, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State 1-4 Affairs; April 24, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote: 1-5 Yeas 13, Nays 0; April 24, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-6 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, The American people have been threatened by 1-8 terrorists' actions against citizens, government, and private 1-9 property, with many of these terrorist activities being carried out 1-10 with explosive materials; and 1-11 WHEREAS, In passing the Antiterrorism and Effective Death 1-12 Penalty Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-132), the United States 1-13 Congress closed several loopholes in the effective administration 1-14 of justice against terrorist activities; in particular, mandating 1-15 that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) conduct a 1-16 study on the feasibility of tagging, or rendering inert, several 1-17 products related to the production of explosive materials; and 1-18 WHEREAS, The same act of congress also required the use of 1-19 detection agents in plastic explosives, increased penalties for 1-20 conspiracies involving the use of explosives, and provided 1-21 assistance to law enforcement personnel to combat the threat of 1-22 terrorism both domestically and abroad; and 1-23 WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Texas is aware of 1-24 the research and implementation efforts of other countries that may 1-25 provide useful information to protect lives and property through 1-26 the careful and successful use of taggants; and 1-27 WHEREAS, The BATF is being assisted in its effort to study 1-28 the technical options and feasibility by the National Research 1-29 Council (NRC), and to provide this assistance, the NRC has 1-30 established a "Committee on Marking, Rendering Inert, and Licensing 1-31 of Explosive Materials"; now, therefore, be it 1-32 RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-33 hereby commend the United States Congress for recognizing the 1-34 threat to public health and security from the misuse of explosives; 1-35 and, be it further 1-36 RESOLVED, That the legislature pledge its full support to the 1-37 efforts now underway by the BATF and the NRC to study the economic, 1-38 practical, and technical feasibility of tagging, or otherwise 1-39 rendering inert, explosive materials; and, be it further 1-40 RESOLVED, That the legislature strongly support the active 1-41 participation of stakeholder interests, including representatives 1-42 of affected manufacturers and law enforcement personnel, in the 1-43 conduct of the BATF and NRC studies; and, be it further 1-44 RESOLVED, That the legislature urge the participants of the 1-45 NRC study to carefully consider the experiences of other countries 1-46 and how those experiences may relate to the NRC study; and, be it 1-47 further 1-48 RESOLVED, That the legislature looks forward to the results 1-49 of the BATF and NRC studies, both the interim report, which is due 1-50 April 1997, and the final report, which is due February 1998, to 1-51 advise the State of Texas in establishing reasonable and effective 1-52 controls on explosive materials and thereby contribute to the 1-53 enhanced protection of all Texans; and, be it further 1-54 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 1-55 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 1-56 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 1-57 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of 1-58 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 1-59 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 1-60 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. 1-61 * * * * *