1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION 1-3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes pride in 1-4 recognizing the members of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly 1-5 who are visiting the United States as part of a two-week program 1-6 sponsored by the United States Information Agency Office of 1-7 International Visitors; and 1-8 WHEREAS, The goal of the United States Information Agency 1-9 Single-Country Project for Costa Rica is to afford an opportunity 1-10 for members of the Legislative Assembly to learn how grassroots 1-11 organizations interact with federal, state, and local governments 1-12 and to observe the lobbying process from the perspective of both 1-13 the Congress or state legislature and the public interest groups; 1-14 and 1-15 WHEREAS, While in Austin and San Antonio, the 1-16 visiting members of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly, 1-17 Carlos Fernandez Alvarado, Carmen Valverde Acosta, 1-18 Mario Carazo Zeledon, and Rolando Gonzalez Ulloa, are 1-19 observing such grassroots democratic processes as voter 1-20 registration, citizen lobbying, and political party formation; 1-21 and 1-22 WHEREAS, Carlos Fernandez is deputy head of the Social 1-23 Christian Unity Party and a longtime advocate of community 2-1 participation in government in Limon; he is active in housing, 2-2 education, health, crime, and environmental issues and has 2-3 supported legislation in those areas; and 2-4 WHEREAS, Deputy Fernandez is a member of the Costa Rican 2-5 Bar Association and uses his legal skills to develop legislation 2-6 on the participation of citizens in the political and social 2-7 process; he focuses on increasing the access to politics for 2-8 citizens groups and helping those groups to gain effectiveness 2-9 on the community level; and 2-10 WHEREAS, Carmen Valverde Acosta is vice-president of the 2-11 Legislative Assembly and formerly served on the Faculty of Law 2-12 at the University of Costa Rica; her wide array of interests 2-13 include agricultural and law enforcement issues, foreign policy 2-14 issues, women and family legislation, electoral reforms, housing, 2-15 health, and education; and 2-16 WHEREAS, Deputy Valverde is a longtime human rights 2-17 advocate and is active in promoting the role of community 2-18 leaders in the political decision-making process on the local 2-19 level; her publications include Legislative Techniques Handbook 2-20 and The Language of the Law; and 2-21 WHEREAS, Mario Carazo Zeledon, a professor of Private 2-22 Law at the University of Costa Rica from 1972 to 1994, has been 2-23 very active as a member of the Legislative Assembly; he is 2-24 interested in control of public sector expenditures, judicial 2-25 issues, and pursuing environmental and financial reforms; and 3-1 WHEREAS, As a part of the Electoral Commission, 3-2 Deputy Carazo has pushed reforms on the financing of political 3-3 parties' activities and has pursued electoral reforms to make 3-4 the selection of candidates more democratic; representing small 3-5 communities in the metropolitan San Jose area, he has worked 3-6 diligently to help residents increase their ability to influence 3-7 the governmental policies that affect them and to develop local 3-8 decision-making mechanisms; and 3-9 WHEREAS, Alternate general secretary of the Latin American 3-10 Parliament from 1995 to 1997 and general secretary of the National 3-11 Liberation Party until the year 2000, Rolando Gonzalez Ulloa has 3-12 been a strong political leader who has promoted important 3-13 legislation to further social, educational, and electoral 3-14 reforms; and 3-15 WHEREAS, Deputy Gonzalez became involved in politics as 3-16 a young man; he is very active in the promotion of young leaders 3-17 and encourages democratic participation by his community; as a 3-18 member of the Electoral Commission, he advocates substantial 3-19 electoral reforms and is interested in regulating the financing 3-20 of political parties; and 3-21 WHEREAS, It is an honor to have members of the Costa Rican 3-22 Legislative Assembly in our country and it is hoped that this 3-23 two-week program will provide the distinguished visitors with 3-24 a deeper insight into grassroots democracy in the United States; 3-25 now, therefore, be it 4-1 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 4-2 75th Legislature, hereby express hospitality and a warm welcome 4-3 to the members of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly and 4-4 express appreciation to each of them for their participation in 4-5 the United States Information Agency Single-Country Project; and, 4-6 be it further 4-7 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared 4-8 for them as an expression of esteem from the Texas Senate. 4-9 Truan 4-10 Armbrister Galloway Nixon 4-11 Barrientos Harris Patterson 4-12 Bivins Haywood Ratliff 4-13 Brown Lindsay Shapiro 4-14 Cain Lucio Shapleigh 4-15 Carona Luna Sibley 4-16 Duncan Madla Wentworth 4-17 Ellis Moncrief West 4-18 Fraser Nelson Whitmire 4-19 Gallegos Zaffirini 4-20 Bullock, President of the Senate 4-21 ______________________________________ 4-22 President of the Senate 4-23 I hereby certify that the above 4-24 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 4-25 on January 15, 1997. 4-26 ______________________________________ 4-27 Secretary of the Senate 4-28 ______________________________________ 4-29 Dean of the Senate