C.S.H.B. 2974 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2974 By: Ch_vez Border and International Affairs Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the subsequent increase in traffic along the Texas-Mexico border, the transportation infrastructure needs of the Texas-Mexico border region have increased greatly. Currently, 76 percent of NAFTA related traffic comes through the Texas-Mexico Border. Some argue that existing transportation infrastructure is not sufficient to handle the increasing volume of traffic resulting from NAFTA. C.S.H.B. 2974 would require the Department of Transportation to implement an integrated trade transportation corridor plan for crossborder traffic. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state agency, department, institution or officer. ANALYSIS SECTION 1. C.S.H.B. 2974 amends the Transportation Code to require the Department of Transportation to implement an integrated trade transportation corridor plan for cross-border traffic. The bill provides that the plan must include strategies and projects to aid the exchange of international trade using the system of multiple transportation modes in this state, and assign priorities based on the amount of international trade, measured by weight and value, using the transportation systems of this state, including border ports of entry, commercial ports, inland ports, highways, pipelines, railroads, and deepwater gulf ports. SECTION 2. Effective Date. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003.