By Lucio, et al. S.C.R. No. 25 77R6487 RVH-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The current presidential administration has 1-2 indicated that it will allow Mexican trucks at least partial access 1-3 to U.S. highways beyond the commercial border zone that was 1-4 established in 1993 to limit the movement of Mexican trucks until 1-5 certain basic infrastructure and safety concerns had been 1-6 addressed; and 1-7 WHEREAS, The opening of the Texas border to Mexican trucks 1-8 will unfairly impact the three border transportation districts in 1-9 Pharr, Laredo, and El Paso without a commensurate increase in the 1-10 commitment of money by the federal government; and 1-11 WHEREAS, The Texas Senate Special Committee on Border Affairs 1-12 was given several study charges during the 1999-2000 interim, 1-13 including assessing the long-term intermodal transportation needs 1-14 of the Texas-Mexico border region, evaluating the planning and 1-15 capacity resources of the three Texas Department of Transportation 1-16 (TxDOT) border districts, and overseeing the implementation of 1-17 federal and state one-stop inspection stations to expedite trade 1-18 and traffic; and 1-19 WHEREAS, The senate committee reported that Texas border 1-20 crossings account for approximately 80 percent of United 1-21 States-Mexico truck traffic, but the state is awarded only 15 1-22 percent of the federal funds allocated for trade corridors; 1-23 information from TxDOT indicates that Texas receives considerably 1-24 less than its fair share of discretionary funds allocated by the 2-1 federal government; recent estimates by TxDOT indicate that, even 2-2 though Texas is the second largest state in the nation, the state 2-3 currently receives only 49 cents on the dollar in federal highway 2-4 discretionary program funds; and 2-5 WHEREAS, The border ports of entry are the primary gateway 2-6 for commerce for Texas and the nation but have become an economic 2-7 choke point as a result of the staggering volume of traffic they 2-8 must handle; in 1997, more than 2.8 million trucks crossed into and 2-9 from Mexico; and 2-10 WHEREAS, In July 1999, the General Accounting Office (GAO) 2-11 reported that NAFTA-related traffic along the border region has 2-12 taxed the local and regional transportation infrastructure and that 2-13 the resulting lines of traffic, which can run up to several miles 2-14 during peak periods, are associated with air pollution caused by 2-15 idling vehicles; and 2-16 WHEREAS, The GAO also cited federal and local officials' 2-17 concerns about congestion affecting safety around the ports of 2-18 entry and noted that congestion can have a negative impact on 2-19 businesses that operate on a just-in-time schedule and rely on 2-20 regular cross-border shipments of parts, supplies, and finished 2-21 products; and 2-22 WHEREAS, The senate committee reported that in the last 2-23 decade total northbound truck crossings, from Mexico into Texas, 2-24 increased by 215.8 percent, while vehicle crossings increased by 59 2-25 percent and pedestrian crossings by 18.5 percent; in that same 2-26 period, southbound truck crossings from Texas to Mexico increased 2-27 by 278.1 percent to 2.1 billion crossings, vehicle crossings by 3-1 53.9 percent to 37.9 million crossings, and pedestrian crossings by 3-2 30.8 percent to 18.5 million crossings; and 3-3 WHEREAS, According to some estimates, heavy truck traffic is 3-4 expected to increase by 85 percent during the next three decades 3-5 and severely degrade existing roads and bridges; according to TxDOT 3-6 officials, one fully loaded 18-wheel truck causes as much damage as 3-7 9,600 cars; with such a significant increase of trade and 3-8 cross-border activity in the border ports of entry and the border 3-9 transportation districts, state and federal leaders have cause for 3-10 concern about whether the current infrastructure can continue to 3-11 support Texas' economic growth and, in particular, trade with 3-12 Mexico; and 3-13 WHEREAS, The Texas Department of Economic Development (TDED) 3-14 reported last year that Mexico is Texas' largest export destination 3-15 and has been a chief contributor to the state's export growth; in 3-16 1999, exports to Mexico accounted for 45.5 percent of the state 3-17 total and were valued at $41.4 billion; and 3-18 WHEREAS, The TDED has concluded that Texas accounts for 20.8 3-19 percent of the total U.S. exports to the North American market, 3-20 largely because of very high export levels to Mexico; in recent 3-21 years, Mexico has become the nation's second largest market, and 3-22 Texas' ties to Mexico are the primary contributors to the state's 3-23 high share of overall U.S. exports; and 3-24 WHEREAS, The comptroller of public accounts of the State of 3-25 Texas has reported that exports account for 14 percent of our gross 3-26 state product, up from six percent in 1985; in 1999, $100 billion 3-27 in two-way truck trade passed through the Texas-Mexico border; 4-1 NAFTA economic activity has tripled on the border, and trade with 4-2 Mexico accounts for one in every five jobs in Texas; now, 4-3 therefore, be it 4-4 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 4-5 hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States and the 4-6 president of the United States, in light of the proposed change in 4-7 federal policy that will further open the border areas to Mexican 4-8 truck travel, to recognize the unique planning, capacity, and 4-9 infrastructure needs of Texas' border ports of entry and the 4-10 high-priority transportation corridors; and, be it further 4-11 RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature request the congress and 4-12 the president to recognize the impact of this policy by earmarking 4-13 $3 billion to fund the construction of one-stop federal and state 4-14 inspection facilities that are open 24 hours per day along the 4-15 Texas border region, as well as to fund infrastructure improvements 4-16 and construction projects at border ports of entry; and, be it 4-17 further 4-18 RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature urge the congress to 4-19 rectify the funding imbalance that Texas has historically 4-20 experienced from the federal government, as evident in the fact 4-21 that, although Texas handles 80 percent of all NAFTA-related 4-22 traffic and is the second largest state in the nation, it has been 4-23 awarded only 15 percent of the federal funds allocated for 4-24 high-priority trade corridors; and, be it further 4-25 RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature request that the 4-26 congress and the president also increase the percentage in federal 4-27 discretionary money that Texas has historically received by 5-1 earmarking $4 billion for critical NAFTA-related planning, 5-2 capacity, and right-of-way acquisition needs and $3 billion for 5-3 immediate construction, maintenance, and planning needs for rural 5-4 roadways that are impacted by NAFTA-related traffic, as well as 5-5 those of emerging NAFTA-related corridors; and, be it further 5-6 RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature urge the congress and 5-7 the president to reaffirm their commitment to public safety in 5-8 Texas as well as in the United States by earmarking $1 billion for 5-9 law enforcement needed to prepare for the influx of Mexican trucks 5-10 with access to travel throughout the border and beyond; and, be it 5-11 further 5-12 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 5-13 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 5-14 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 5-15 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of 5-16 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 5-17 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 5-18 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.