1-1                        SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-2           WHEREAS, While the North American Free Trade Agreement
 1-3     (NAFTA) has boosted the economy in Texas and the nation, the
 1-4     increase in heavy truck traffic has caused excessive wear on county
 1-5     and city roads that lie within the border commercial zone; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, According to the Texas Border Infrastructure
 1-7     Coalition more than 77 percent of United States-Mexico trade passes
 1-8     through the Texas border region annually; in 1999 this amounted to
 1-9     4.4 million trucks crossing the Texas-Mexico border carrying $127.6
1-10     billion worth of commerce; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Many of these trucks exceed the weight limits
1-12     imposed by both federal and state law, causing extensive damage to
1-13     public roads and bridges, especially the "off-system" roads that
1-14     are maintained by counties and municipalities, most of which are
1-15     not designed to handle these heavy commercial trucks; and
1-16           WHEREAS, The Texas Department of Transportation estimates
1-17     that there are more than 17,000 miles of load-posted roadways in
1-18     Texas; many of these roadways are Farm-to-Market roads that were
1-19     built in the 1940s and 1950s using design standards for a legal
1-20     weight limit of 48,000 pounds, or approximately 60 percent of the
1-21     weight of some of the heavier trucks today; and
1-22           WHEREAS, There are approximately 7,250 deficient bridges on
1-23     off-system roads in Texas, and while the Texas Department of
1-24     Transportation is in the process of upgrading these bridges, the
1-25     scope of the bridge rehabilitation required means that, at current
 2-1     funding levels and practices, it could take decades to complete the
 2-2     undertaking, assuming no more bridges become deficient; it is
 2-3     important, therefore, that trucks be weighed before they are
 2-4     permitted to operate in the commercial border zone, so as not to
 2-5     cause further infrastructure damage; and
 2-6           WHEREAS, In addition to contributing to the destruction of
 2-7     transportation infrastructure, overweight trucks pose safety
 2-8     hazards for other vehicles sharing the roads; the University of
 2-9     Michigan Transportation Research Institute estimates that as the
2-10     weight of a truck goes from 65,000 to 80,000 pounds, the risk of an
2-11     accident involving a fatality increases by 50 percent; and
2-12           WHEREAS, County and city governments within the commercial
2-13     border zone would benefit greatly from having additional weigh
2-14     stations situated in their jurisdictions and additional law
2-15     enforcement officers to conduct weight inspections of commercial
2-16     vehicles traveling on roads that they maintain; and
2-17           WHEREAS, While the entire nation benefits from NAFTA, the
2-18     local governments along the Texas-Mexico border must bear the high
2-19     cost of overweight truck inspections and repairing damage to the
2-20     roads resulting from the increase in heavy commercial vehicle
2-21     traffic on the off-system roads; now, therefore, be it
2-22           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-23     hereby urge the United States Congress to create a federal category
2-24     under the NAFTA agreement, for NAFTA traffic-related infrastructure
2-25     damage, to provide counties and municipalities with funding for
2-26     commercial vehicle weigh stations within the 20-mile commercial
 3-1     border zone; and, be it further
 3-2           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
 3-3     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
 3-4     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
 3-5     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the
 3-6     Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
 3-7     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
 3-8     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
         _______________________________     _______________________________
             President of the Senate              Speaker of the House
               I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 10 was adopted by the Senate
         on March 1, 2001.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Secretary of the Senate
               I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 10 was adopted by the House
         on May 5, 2001.
                                             _______________________________
                                                Chief Clerk of the House
         Approved:
         _______________________________
                      Date
         _______________________________
                    Governor