By Alexander H.R. No. 637 77R3917 JKB-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, David M. Laney is ending a distinguished tenure as a 1-2 member of the Texas Transportation Commission, and his noteworthy 1-3 accomplishments while in office indeed merit special legislative 1-4 recognition; and 1-5 WHEREAS, The chairman of the board and president of Dallas's 1-6 largest law firm, Jenkens & Gilchrist, Mr. Laney was appointed to 1-7 the Texas Transportation Commission in April 1995 by Governor 1-8 George W. Bush and was named chairman of the commission; and 1-9 WHEREAS, Under his exceptional leadership, the commission has 1-10 been credited with a host of significant achievements, including 1-11 increasing highway construction contracts to a total of more than 1-12 $3 billion a year, building the first private toll road in the 1-13 state, and creating the North Texas Turnpike Authority; and 1-14 WHEREAS, Recognizing that the highways crossing the border 1-15 between Texas and Mexico were expected to increase in traffic, he 1-16 led the commission to create a $2.8 billion initiative to improve 1-17 the area's infrastructure; and 1-18 WHEREAS, Working to increase federal funding for Texas, he 1-19 drew an additional $700 million to the Lone Star State; these funds 1-20 have provided for much needed highway repair and construction and 1-21 have supported state transportation agencies, general aviation and 1-22 reliever airports, and the state's extensive urban and rural 1-23 transit systems; and 1-24 WHEREAS, Mr. Laney encouraged the Texas Department of 2-1 Transportation to develop more flexible financing tools to better 2-2 respond to the state's exploding transportation needs, and the 2-3 achievements of the department during his tenure on the commission 2-4 include such capital improvement projects as the LBJ Freeway and 2-5 the Grand Parkway in Houston; and 2-6 WHEREAS, This Dallas native is a graduate of Stanford 2-7 University and the Southern Methodist University School of Law; he 2-8 and his wife of more than 20 years, Eleanor, are the parents of two 2-9 daughters, Margaret and Virginia; highly regarded for his integrity 2-10 and insightfulness, he is also a former member of the Texas Finance 2-11 Commission; and 2-12 WHEREAS, Mr. Laney stepped down as commissioner of 2-13 transportation in April 2000 and will soon complete his six-year 2-14 term as a member of the commission; in light of his myriad 2-15 contributions to the Lone Star State, it is truly a privilege to 2-16 honor him at this time; now, therefore, be it 2-17 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas 2-18 Legislature hereby express its appreciation to David M. Laney for 2-19 years of dedicated service to the Texas Transportation Commission 2-20 and extend to him sincere best wishes for success in his future 2-21 endeavors; and, be it further 2-22 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 2-23 prepared for Mr. Laney as an expression of high regard by the Texas 2-24 House of Representatives.