1-1 By: Haywood S.C.R. No. 32 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 26, 1997; March 4, 1997, read 1-3 first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; 1-4 March 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 13, 1-5 Nays 0; March 18, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-6 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, The south bank of the Red River constitutes the 1-8 boundary between the states of Texas and Oklahoma; and 1-9 WHEREAS, The exact determination of where the south bank of 1-10 the Red River is located is extremely difficult to ascertain and 1-11 subject to widely divergent opinion; and 1-12 WHEREAS, The south bank of the Red River is not a permanent 1-13 location, but is constantly changing; and 1-14 WHEREAS, The federal government claims ownership of the south 1-15 half of the Red River within a 116-mile stretch between the 98th 1-16 Meridian and the mouth of the North Fork of the Red River; and 1-17 WHEREAS, The Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes claim 1-18 entitlement to 62-1/2 percent of the revenues derived from oil and 1-19 gas production from these lands; and 1-20 WHEREAS, The changing location of the south bank and the 1-21 difficulty in determining its location at any given time has 1-22 created problems in the enforcement of laws, collection of taxes, 1-23 economic development, and the establishment of property ownership; 1-24 and 1-25 WHEREAS, It is to the mutual advantage of the states of Texas 1-26 and Oklahoma to agree on and establish a practicable boundary 1-27 between both states; and 1-28 WHEREAS, By House Concurrent Resolution 128, Acts of the 74th 1-29 Legislature, the Texas Red River Boundary Commission was created; 1-30 and 1-31 WHEREAS, The term of the commission expires on June 30, 1998; 1-32 and 1-33 WHEREAS, The states of Texas and Oklahoma are working 1-34 together to adopt a boundary compact to present to their respective 1-35 legislatures; and 1-36 WHEREAS, If the Texas Red River Boundary Commission is unable 1-37 to reach a boundary agreement with the Oklahoma Red River Boundary 1-38 Commission on or before June 30, 1998, the work of the commission 1-39 will be lost; and 1-40 WHEREAS, It is to the benefit of the citizens of Texas to 1-41 extend the term of the Texas commission and enable it to continue 1-42 its work toward a joint boundary resolution; now, therefore, be it 1-43 RESOLVED by the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas, That 1-44 the term of the Red River Boundary Commission is hereby extended to 1-45 June 30, 2000; commission members, not to exceed 17 in number, 1-46 shall be appointed by the governor; the commissioners shall be 1-47 representative of private property owners, local government elected 1-48 officials, mineral interests, and the general public; such members 1-49 shall serve without compensation, except for reasonable travel 1-50 reimbursement; staffing for this commission shall be provided by 1-51 the General Land Office, the Office of the Attorney General, and 1-52 the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission; and, be it 1-53 further 1-54 RESOLVED, That the chairman shall be appointed by the 1-55 governor; and, be it further 1-56 RESOLVED, That it shall be the duty of the commission to 1-57 confer and act in conjunction with the representatives appointed on 1-58 behalf of the State of Oklahoma for the following purposes: 1-59 (1) to initially make a joint investigation at the 1-60 joint expense of the two states as to the appropriate method of 1-61 establishing a practicable location of the common boundary between 1-62 the two states with respect to the Red River; 1-63 (2) to investigate, negotiate, and report as to the 1-64 necessity and advisability of a compact between the two states 2-1 defining and locating a practicable, identifiable state line; 2-2 (3) to hold such hearings and conferences in either of 2-3 the two states as may be required and to take such action, either 2-4 separately or in cooperation with the State of Oklahoma or the 2-5 United States, or both, as may be necessary or convenient to 2-6 accomplish the purposes of this resolution; and 2-7 (4) to report to the governor and the Legislature of 2-8 the State of Texas annually no later than January 15 of each year 2-9 its findings and recommendations concerning joint action by the 2-10 State of Texas and the State of Oklahoma; and, be it further 2-11 RESOLVED, That the Red River Boundary Commission shall 2-12 terminate on June 30, 2000; and, be it further 2-13 RESOLVED, That the legislature hereby respectfully request 2-14 the president and the Congress of the United States to meet and 2-15 confer with the commission and the representatives of the State of 2-16 Oklahoma and to assist in carrying out the purposes of this 2-17 resolution; and, be it further 2-18 RESOLVED, That the governor of the State of Texas be and is 2-19 hereby empowered and requested to forward a copy of this resolution 2-20 to the governor of the State of Oklahoma and to request that the 2-21 governor or legislature of that state appoint representatives of 2-22 the State of Oklahoma to confer and act in conjunction with the 2-23 commission for the purposes above specified, with the understanding 2-24 that each state pay all expenses of its representatives; and, be it 2-25 further 2-26 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-27 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, 2-28 the speaker of the house of representatives and president of the 2-29 senate of the United States Congress and to all members of the 2-30 Texas delegation to the congress with the request that it be 2-31 officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 2-32 Congress of the United States of America. 2-33 * * * * *