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