1-1 By: Shapleigh S.C.R. No. 47 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 1999; March 10, 1999, read 1-3 first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; May 7, 1999, 1-4 reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; 1-5 May 7, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, More commercial trucks travel Texas roads than the 1-8 roads of any other state, in part because almost 80 percent of all 1-9 U.S. trade with Mexico passes through this state; according to the 1-10 U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation 1-11 Statistics, in 1993 Texas had the most truck shipments with 119 1-12 billion ton miles at a value of $1.2 trillion, but ranked only 1-13 seventh in federal aid apportionments to the states; and 1-14 WHEREAS, While the sizable increase in commercial truck 1-15 traffic alone is sufficient to cause increased road wear, the 1-16 effect of overweight trucks on weight-restricted roads can result 1-17 in millions of dollars in accelerated road and bridge deterioration 1-18 annually; and 1-19 WHEREAS, Of the existing 77,000-mile road system in Texas, 1-20 only the 3,000 miles of interstate highway are classified as 1-21 heavy-duty use, with a load limit of 80,000 pounds; the roads most 1-22 at risk to damage by overweight trucks, which can weigh between 1-23 80,000 and 200,000 pounds or more, are the 42,000 miles of bridges 1-24 and roads in the farm-to-market and ranch-to-market road systems 1-25 that were designed to carry trucks weighing only 30,000 and 58,000 1-26 pounds, respectively; and 1-27 WHEREAS, The Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M 1-28 University found that an 84,000-pound truck operated on roads 1-29 load-zoned at 58,000 pounds causes about $2,000 worth of road 1-30 damage per year while the American Association of State Highway and 1-31 Transportation Officials established that the damage from one 1-32 80,000-pound truck is equal to the damage caused by 9,600 cars; and 1-33 WHEREAS, The maximum permitted axle loads in Mexico are 10 1-34 percent to 20 percent higher than those allowed in Texas; that fact 1-35 becomes more alarming considering that less than one-half of one 1-36 percent of all trucks crossing the Texas-Mexico border are 1-37 inspected for weight or other types of compliance with Texas road 1-38 laws; and 1-39 WHEREAS, A report by the Center for Transportation Research 1-40 at The University of Texas at Austin indicates that tractor-trailer 1-41 and other large commercial trucks are responsible for 35.5 percent 1-42 of the costs of building and maintaining highways but pay only 17.8 1-43 percent of all user fees; and 1-44 WHEREAS, In 1998, the Texas Department of Transportation 1-45 issued more than 500,000 permits for both oversize loads and 1-46 overweight trucks that generated more than $25 million in revenue, 1-47 with an increase of 350 percent in overweight permits alone since 1-48 1990; nevertheless, studies by the Texas Transportation Institute 1-49 estimate the damage caused by overweight trucks to be $62.8 million 1-50 per year, far more than the revenue recouped through permit fees; 1-51 and 1-52 WHEREAS, In another report, the Texas Transportation 1-53 Institute determined that a fee for a weight tolerance permit 1-54 commensurate with the true cost of road damage caused by heavy 1-55 trucks would be more than $2,000 per truck, as opposed to the 1-56 current $75 base fee; and 1-57 WHEREAS, In the 1991 report, Breaking the Mold, the Texas 1-58 Performance Review recommended that the state recoup the cost for 1-59 road damage caused by overweight trucks by increasing its revenues 1-60 from heavy trucks with higher registration fees and an increased 1-61 diesel fuel tax; now, therefore, be it 1-62 RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-63 hereby urge the Texas Department of Transportation to conduct a 1-64 study on the factors that cause road damage and revise its funding 2-1 formulas to reflect and address the damage caused by NAFTA truck 2-2 traffic; and, be it further 2-3 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official 2-4 copy of this resolution to the executive director of the Texas 2-5 Department of Transportation. 2-6 * * * * *