By Chavez                                            H.C.R. No. 225
         77R5360 MTD-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, El Paso County has traditionally been and continues
 1-2     to be underfunded with regard to graduate and professional
 1-3     education programs relative to its population; and
 1-4           WHEREAS, This lack of funding for advanced degree education
 1-5     programs in the region is evident from the fact that El Paso is the
 1-6     only major city in Texas without a full-time, three-year law school
 1-7     and is the largest city in the United States that is not within
 1-8     commuting distance of a law school; and
 1-9           WHEREAS, Consequently, while Texas has one lawyer for every
1-10     342 people, El Paso has fewer lawyers per capita with one for every
1-11     645 people, and nearly one-fourth of El Paso County lawyers are
1-12     imported from out-of-state law schools; and
1-13           WHEREAS, There is a direct correlation between a population's
1-14     level of education and its lifelong income, which in turn
1-15     determines the prosperity of the region; and
1-16           WHEREAS, An individual with a professional or graduate degree
1-17     is estimated to earn $2 million more over a lifetime than a person
1-18     with only a high school degree and $1 million more than a person
1-19     with only a bachelor's degree; and
1-20           WHEREAS, Texas residents are best served when a range of
1-21     institutions of higher education are available within reasonable
1-22     proximity, and the overwhelming majority of El Paso County voters
1-23     are in favor of establishing a full-time, three-year law school at
1-24     The University of Texas at El Paso; and
 2-1           WHEREAS, To improve the graduate and professional educational
 2-2     opportunities in the border region and to maintain the economic
 2-3     prosperity and civic vitality of El Paso, efforts should be made to
 2-4     establish a full-time, three-year law school at The University of
 2-5     Texas at El Paso; now, therefore, be it
 2-6           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
 2-7     hereby urge the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to
 2-8     approve the establishment of a law school at The University of
 2-9     Texas at El Paso; and, be it further
2-10           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
2-11     copy of this resolution to the commissioner of higher education and
2-12     the chair of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.