By: Shapleigh S.C.R. No. 7 1-1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-2 WHEREAS, The governments of Texas and Mexico are facing a 1-3 serious challenge in reducing the costly delays of commercial 1-4 vehicle congestion occurring at international border crossings as a 1-5 result of record-breaking trade activity under the North American 1-6 Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and 1-7 WHEREAS, Because of the mutual benefits derived from this 1-8 international trade, there is a need for a cooperative approach to 1-9 alleviating such delays on both sides of the border and thus 1-10 expediting commercial traffic, and the development of technology 1-11 represents one of the most feasible and promising avenues for a 1-12 joint venture in this regard; and 1-13 WHEREAS, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) 1-14 technologies are now being used at border crossings on the north 1-15 side of the Rio Grande to automate the regulatory processes that 1-16 govern trade under NAFTA, such as vehicle, driver, and cargo 1-17 certification requirements; and 1-18 WHEREAS, The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is 1-19 guiding the implementation of ITS technology to screen this data 1-20 electronically as trucks approach border checkpoints, thus 1-21 eliminating the need to halt the flow of trans-border commerce and 1-22 reducing the miles of idling, gas-guzzling, freight-bearing trucks 1-23 waiting to be inspected by border officials; and 1-24 WHEREAS, ITS technologies have been successfully demonstrated 2-1 under the Texas Regional International Border Crossing (TRIBEX) 2-2 operational test; the TRIBEX system was implemented in 1998 at the 2-3 Ysleta-Zaragosa Bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, 2-4 and at the Columbia-Solidarity and Lincoln-Juarez bridges between 2-5 Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico; and 2-6 WHEREAS, The TRIBEX system uses weigh-in motion technology, 2-7 other electronic sensors, and communications equipment to support 2-8 an initiative called the North American Trade Automation Prototype 2-9 (NATAP); the system electronically collects vehicle and cargo data 2-10 and transmits the data to officers of the Texas Department of 2-11 Public Safety and United States Customs officials, who then inform 2-12 truck drivers whether to continue or stop for an inspection; and 2-13 WHEREAS, NAFTA provisions require participating countries to 2-14 cooperate in efforts to standardize data elements, set an 2-15 international data syntax, facilitate the exchange of information, 2-16 and generally harmonize customs processes; and 2-17 WHEREAS, The concept of a "seamless" border crossing to 2-18 expedite the processing of commercial vehicles and people can only 2-19 be realized through the binational planning of infrastructure 2-20 projects that complement the coordinated use of ITS technologies; 2-21 and 2-22 WHEREAS, The creation of a complementary ITS environment on 2-23 both sides of the border is an imperative that also addresses the 2-24 issue of road safety for Texas and the nation because Mexican 2-25 trucks, which will soon have access to travel beyond the border 2-26 region, are far too heavy for our roads to support; and 3-1 WHEREAS, Based on its leadership role in formulating 3-2 strategies to develop and implement ITS projects, TxDOT has 3-3 acquired the qualifications to work with the Mexican government and 3-4 the Mexican business sector to establish complementary technologies 3-5 for their respective border clearance stations; now, therefore, be 3-6 it 3-7 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 3-8 hereby request the Texas Department of Transportation to 3-9 collaborate with Mexico to develop and implement an electronic 3-10 check and clearance system at border crossings in Mexico using 3-11 state-of-the-art Intelligent Transportation System technologies, 3-12 including weigh-in motion technology; and, be it further 3-13 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official 3-14 copy of this resolution to the executive director of the Texas 3-15 Department of Transportation and to the chair of the Texas 3-16 Transportation Commission.