By:  Wentworth                                        S.C.R. No. 68
 1-1                        SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-2           WHEREAS, Marshall L. Turner, Jr., of the United States Census
 1-3     Bureau, known and revered by redistricting staffs throughout the
 1-4     United States for his invaluable work in providing the data needed
 1-5     for the decennial redrawing of congressional and state legislative
 1-6     districts, is retiring on September 30, 2001; and
 1-7           WHEREAS, In the 1970s, when states sought to devise
 1-8     redistricting plans that would meet the "one person, one vote"
 1-9     requirement and satisfy the provisions of the Voting Rights Act, it
1-10     was Mr. Turner who developed a program to provide the small-area
1-11     census population totals that would be crucial to the task; and
1-12           WHEREAS, Over the years, as the Census Bureau Redistricting
1-13     Data Program that he created has continued to evolve, Mr. Turner
1-14     has involved the states in that process by including legislative
1-15     leaders and staff in bureau meetings and by seeking input at
1-16     innumerable gatherings of the National Conference of State
1-17     Legislatures; and
1-18           WHEREAS, Mr. Turner's accessibility and helpfulness in
1-19     guiding state redistricting staff through the maze of census
1-20     programs is legendary; even when a major snowstorm shuts down the
1-21     capital, he fields questions at his home by e-mail and phone, and
1-22     he will readily catch a plane to come to a state's assistance; and
1-23           WHEREAS, A native of Gastonia, North Carolina, and a graduate
1-24     of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned
 2-1     a bachelor's degree with honors and completed a master's degree in
 2-2     demography and computer science, this quintessential public servant
 2-3     joined the Census Bureau as a math statistician in 1964; in the
 2-4     late 1960s he developed longitudinal studies of previous census
 2-5     records to measure changes in poverty, and in the early 1970s he
 2-6     served as the liaison between the bureau and state and local
 2-7     governments for the Federal General Revenue Sharing project; and
 2-8           WHEREAS, Since 1970 Mr. Turner has ably directed the bureau's
 2-9     dissemination of computerized census products; he served as
2-10     assistant chief of the Decennial Census Division for the 1980 count
2-11     and as chief of the Data User Services Division for the 1990
2-12     census; he currently presides as chief over the Census 2000
2-13     Redistricting Data Office; and
2-14           WHEREAS, Even though he never saw adjusted census figures
2-15     replace an actual count during his tenure with the bureau, his
2-16     numerous friends are confident that Mr. Turner's personal
2-17     adjustment to life after retirement will be a resounding success;
2-18     certainly he will have more time to spend with his wife, Nancy,
2-19     son, Mark, and daughter and son-in-law, Lynn and Tony, and to enjoy
2-20     the beach and the beauty of the Tar Heel State; and
2-21           WHEREAS, Appreciated for his friendliness and infinite
2-22     patience, as well as for his exhaustive knowledge, Marshall Turner
2-23     has truly been one of the best friends the states have, and it is
2-24     indeed a great pleasure and privilege to recognize him at this
2-25     time; now, therefore, be it
2-26           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
 3-1     hereby honor Marshall L. Turner, Jr., on the occasion of his
 3-2     retirement from the United States Census Bureau and express to him
 3-3     its profound gratitude for his exemplary service to this and every
 3-4     other state; and, be it further
 3-5           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
 3-6     prepared for Mr. Turner as an expression of high regard by the
 3-7     Texas House of Representatives and Senate.