1-1 By: Shapleigh, Lucio S.C.R. No. 10 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed January 12, 2001; January 16, 2001, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce; 1-4 February 26, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 1-5 7, Nays 0; February 26, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, While the North American Free Trade Agreement 1-8 (NAFTA) has boosted the economy in Texas and the nation, the 1-9 increase in heavy truck traffic has caused excessive wear on county 1-10 and city roads that lie within the border commercial zone; and 1-11 WHEREAS, According to the Texas Border Infrastructure 1-12 Coalition more than 77 percent of United States-Mexico trade passes 1-13 through the Texas border region annually; in 1999 this amounted to 1-14 4.4 million trucks crossing the Texas-Mexico border carrying $127.6 1-15 billion worth of commerce; and 1-16 WHEREAS, Many of these trucks exceed the weight limits 1-17 imposed by both federal and state law, causing extensive damage to 1-18 public roads and bridges, especially the "off-system" roads that 1-19 are maintained by counties and municipalities, most of which are 1-20 not designed to handle these heavy commercial trucks; and 1-21 WHEREAS, The Texas Department of Transportation estimates 1-22 that there are more than 17,000 miles of load-posted roadways in 1-23 Texas; many of these roadways are Farm-to-Market roads that were 1-24 built in the 1940s and 1950s using design standards for a legal 1-25 weight limit of 48,000 pounds, or approximately 60 percent of the 1-26 weight of some of the heavier trucks today; and 1-27 WHEREAS, There are approximately 7,250 deficient bridges on 1-28 off-system roads in Texas, and while the Texas Department of 1-29 Transportation is in the process of upgrading these bridges, the 1-30 scope of the bridge rehabilitation required means that, at current 1-31 funding levels and practices, it could take decades to complete the 1-32 undertaking, assuming no more bridges become deficient; it is 1-33 important, therefore, that trucks be weighed before they are 1-34 permitted to operate in the commercial border zone, so as not to 1-35 cause further infrastructure damage; and 1-36 WHEREAS, In addition to contributing to the destruction of 1-37 transportation infrastructure, overweight trucks pose safety 1-38 hazards for other vehicles sharing the roads; the University of 1-39 Michigan Transportation Research Institute estimates that as the 1-40 weight of a truck goes from 65,000 to 80,000 pounds, the risk of an 1-41 accident involving a fatality increases by 50 percent; and 1-42 WHEREAS, County and city governments within the commercial 1-43 border zone would benefit greatly from having additional weigh 1-44 stations situated in their jurisdictions and additional law 1-45 enforcement officers to conduct weight inspections of commercial 1-46 vehicles traveling on roads that they maintain; and 1-47 WHEREAS, While the entire nation benefits from NAFTA, the 1-48 local governments along the Texas-Mexico border must bear the high 1-49 cost of overweight truck inspections and repairing damage to the 1-50 roads resulting from the increase in heavy commercial vehicle 1-51 traffic on the off-system roads; now, therefore, be it 1-52 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-53 hereby urge the United States Congress to create a federal category 1-54 under the NAFTA agreement, for NAFTA traffic-related infrastructure 1-55 damage, to provide counties and municipalities with funding for 1-56 commercial vehicle weigh stations within the 20-mile commercial 1-57 border zone; and, be it further 1-58 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 1-59 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 1-60 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 1-61 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the 1-62 Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 1-63 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 1-64 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. 2-1 * * * * *