1-1     By:  Shapleigh                                         S.C.R. No. 5
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed January 10, 2001; January 11, 2001,
 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
 1-4     March 15, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
 1-5     Nays 0; March 15, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                        SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, Federal statutes require, as a condition for
 1-8     spending federal highway or transit funds in urban areas, the
 1-9     designation of a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in each
1-10     urban area with a population of more than 50,000; MPOs have primary
1-11     responsibility for planning, programming, and coordination of
1-12     federal highway and transit investments in their areas; and
1-13           WHEREAS, Among Texas' MPOs are several that serve urban areas
1-14     along the United States-Mexico border, including Brownsville, El
1-15     Paso, Harlingen-San Benito, Laredo, and Hidalgo County; and
1-16           WHEREAS, The need for continuous, comprehensive, and
1-17     cooperative planning on a regional scale, such as that carried out
1-18     by MPOs, has been recognized by advocates for an orderly
1-19     transportation planning process in this country since the early
1-20     part of the twentieth century; and
1-21           WHEREAS, MPOs along the border face special challenges
1-22     because, in their case, relationships with local governments on the
1-23     Mexican side of the border are at least as important as
1-24     relationships with other Texas political subdivisions, given the
1-25     international nature of their metropolitan areas; their regional
1-26     economies cross not only local government boundaries but also an
1-27     international border; and
1-28           WHEREAS, Processing the high volume of commercial and
1-29     passenger traffic while at the same time interdicting contraband
1-30     and illegal immigrants has contributed to congestion and air
1-31     pollution along the border and has placed pressure on the
1-32     infrastructure of local communities along both sides of the border;
1-33     traffic congestion has become the most obvious and persistent
1-34     infrastructure challenge along the border; and
1-35           WHEREAS, To be effective, efforts by Texas and federal
1-36     officials to relieve congestion at the border will require close
1-37     cooperation with Mexican officials; construction schedules and
1-38     standards for bridges and highways, as well as procedures for the
1-39     operation of border crossing facilities, need to be planned and
1-40     coordinated in advance to ensure the efficient and safe movement of
1-41     merchandise and people; however, coordinated regional
1-42     decision-making about regional problems remains the exception
1-43     rather than the rule; and
1-44           WHEREAS, While some border MPOs currently include Mexican
1-45     border cities in their list of stakeholders to whom notice of
1-46     actions relating to transportation projects is routinely provided,
1-47     under federal law, membership in the MPO is limited to local
1-48     elected officials, officials of local public transportation
1-49     agencies, and certain state officials; there are no provisions in
1-50     the federal statute for including foreign representatives in an
1-51     MPO; and
1-52           WHEREAS, Inclusion of Mexican representatives on the
1-53     technical advisory committees of MPOs in border areas would enhance
1-54     the transportation planning process and further progress toward the
1-55     goals set out in federal law; and
1-56           WHEREAS, Congress, while consistently upholding the need for
1-57     MPOs, periodically has refined their functions and authority to
1-58     address specific needs or changing circumstances; the unique
1-59     challenges facing border MPOs have created a situation that
1-60     certainly warrants revision of those provisions that limit border
1-61     MPOs' ability to deal with transnational transportation issues;
1-62     now, therefore, be it
1-63           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-64     hereby respectfully request the Congress of the United States to
 2-1     amend federal law pertaining to membership on policy committees of
 2-2     metropolitan planning organizations and allow inclusion of persons
 2-3     representing another nation in order to enable MPOs along the
 2-4     border to work closely with their counterparts in Mexico; and, be
 2-5     it further
 2-6           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
 2-7     copy of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
 2-8     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
 2-9     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
2-10     the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
2-11     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
2-12     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
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