HBA-CMT H.B. 3551 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3551 By: Raymond Transportation 4/12/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Texas border crossings are estimated to carry approximately 80 percent of commercial truck traffic between the United States and Mexico, and most of that traffic flows through the Laredo, Brownsville, and El Paso ports of entry. Legislation was enacted during the 76th Legislature to require TxDOT to establish and maintain one-stop border inspection stations at Laredo, Brownsville and El Paso to expedite the flow of cross-border commercial traffic. However, the legislation contained no provision allowing municipalities the decision making authority to determine where these facilities would be located. House Bill 3551 increases the number of inspection facilities to eight, provides greater flexibility to TxDOT in the location of the inspection stations, authorizes a municipality to choose the location of an inspection station if it is to be located within the municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, and provides that construction of the facilities is suspended if appropriate United States and Mexican agencies agree to implement a program where Mexican commercial motor vehicles are inspected and cleared on the Mexico side of the border. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3551 amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to erect and maintain eight border inspection facilities that are within 60 miles of the Rio Grande in the Pharr, Laredo, and El Paso districts for the inspection of motor vehicles after the vehicles have been inspected for compliance with federal regulations. The bill authorizes a municipality to choose the location of a facility if the facility is to be located in the municipality or the municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction. The bill requires TxDOT to begin construction of the facilities at or about the same time and to take reasonable steps to ensure that construction of the facilities progresses equally. Implementation of the construction and maintenance of the border inspection facilities is suspended if the appropriate agencies that inspect commercial motor vehicles entering this state from the United Mexican States and the officials of the appropriate agencies in the United Mexican States agree to implement a program under which commercial motor vehicles are inspected by those state agencies before the vehicles enter this state. The period of suspension continues as long as such a program is in effect. The bill requires the appropriate state agencies to initiate efforts to develop a program for the inspection of commercial motor vehicles entering this state with the appropriate counterpart agencies in the United Mexican States as soon as practicable. The bill requires TxDOT to spend money previously appropriated by the legislature or received from the federal government for one-stop border inspection stations to establish the border inspection facilities as required in the bill. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.