SRC-JEC S.C.R. 10 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research Center S.C.R. 10 77R2961 NBH-DBy: Shapleigh Business & Commerce 2/12/2001 As Filed DIGEST The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has boosted the economy in Texas and in the entire United States. However, the increase in heavy truck traffic has caused roadways and bridges within the border commercial zone to deteriorate. Most of the roadways are maintained by counties and municipalities, and were built to accommodate a fraction of the weight of today's trucks. Local governments within the border zone are burdened with the costs of weighing trucks and repairing road damage. The state is in the process of upgrading bridges in the area, but the scope of damage and the number of bridges means that, at current funding levels and practices, it could take decades to complete the undertaking. Overweight trucks also pose safety hazards for other motorists. A considerable increase in heavy truck traffic is expected in the coming decades. County and city governments within the commercial border zone would benefit from having additional weigh stations situated in their jurisdictions and additional law enforcement officers to conduct weight inspections of commercial vehicles traveling on roads that they maintain. PURPOSE As proposed, S.C.R. 10 submits the following resolutions: Urges the United States Congress to create a federal category under the NAFTA agreement, for NAFTA traffic-related infrastructure damage, to provide counties and municipalities with funding for commercial vehicle weigh stations within the 20-mile commercial border zone; and Requires the Texas secretary of state to forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.