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.
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