H.C.R. No. 63HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission, whose responsibility is to protect and preserve the state's historic and prehistoric resources for the use, education, enjoyment, and economic benefit of present and future generations, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2003; and WHEREAS, Texas lawmakers, seeing a need to coordinate efforts to ensure the preservation of the state's unique history, created the Texas State Historical Survey Committee in 1953 to identify historic sites and resources across the state; and WHEREAS, Today that committee has come to be known as the Texas Historical Commission, an agency noted both nationally and internationally for its work in helping communities preserve their historic character and assisting Texans with questions and concerns about archeology, architecture, history, economic development, and heritage tourism; and WHEREAS, In fulfilling its mission as the state agency for historic preservation, the Texas Historical Commission has developed and is implementing a strategic plan that is detailed in the document Preserving Our Texas Heritage: A Statewide Plan for Texas; and WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission is working with 142 counties to promote travel to historic sites and surrounding areas through the Texas Heritage Trails Program, an initiative designed to stimulate the state's regional economies; and WHEREAS, Another successful undertaking, the commission's Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, has drawn the attention of other states for its achievements in restoring historic county courthouses and promoting economic growth and development in county seats across the state, particularly in rural areas of Texas; and WHEREAS, In Matagorda Bay in 1995, Texas Historical Commission archeologists discovered one of the most important shipwrecks in North American history, La Salle's ship the Belle; their year-long excavation resulted in the recovery of more than a million artifacts and the conservation of the ship's hull; they then went on to excavate nearby Fort St. Louis, the state's first European settlement; and WHEREAS, The Texas Main Street Program, established in 1981, has become one of the most successful such endeavors in the nation, stimulating more than $880 million in private-sector downtown reinvestment, creating over 19,000 new jobs in Texas, and leading to the expansion or recruitment of more than 4,800 businesses; and WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission has distributed more than $2.4 million in grant money to assist Texas communities in establishing high standards of preservation through the Certified Local Government Program; it has also disbursed over $2 million to help save endangered historic buildings and important archeological sites through the Texas Preservation Trust Fund; and WHEREAS, More than 12,000 historical markers have been erected by the commission, the largest number in any state; in addition, the commission works to protect and designate historic cemeteries throughout Texas; and WHEREAS, The agency reaches out to communities through its county historical commissions; in 2002, more than 4,500 individuals donated 215,000 hours to local preservation efforts; and WHEREAS, For half a century, the Texas Historical Commission has initiated and carried out programs that have been instrumental in preserving the state's historic resources and that have contributed significantly to local economies; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby extend sincere thanks to the Texas Historical Commission for its efforts in preserving the unique history of the Lone Star State and encourage all Texans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the commission by visiting historic Texas sites throughout the year. Hilderbran Craddick Giddings Merritt Allen Goodman Miller Alonzo Goolsby Moreno of Harris Bailey Griggs Moreno of El Paso Baxter Grusendorf Morrison Berman Guillen Mowery Bohac Gutierrez Naishtat Bonnen Haggerty Nixon Branch Hamilton Noriega Brown of Kaufman Hamric Oliveira Brown of Brazos Hardcastle Olivo Burnam Harper-Brown Paxton Callegari Hartnett Pena Campbell Heflin Phillips Canales Hegar Pickett Capelo Hilderbran Pitts Casteel Hill Puente Castro Hochberg Quintanilla Chavez Hodge Rangel Chisum Homer Raymond Christian Hope Reyna Coleman Hopson Riddle Cook of Navarro Howard Ritter Cook of Colorado Hughes Rodriguez Corte Hunter Rose Crabb Hupp Seaman Crownover Isett Smith of Tarrant Davis of Harris Jones of Lubbock Smith of Harris Davis of Dallas Jones of Bexar Smithee Dawson Jones of Dallas Solis Delisi Keel Solomons Denny Keffer of Dallas Stick Deshotel Keffer of Eastland Swinford Driver King Talton Dukes Kolkhorst Taylor Dunnam Krusee Telford Dutton Kuempel Thompson Edwards Laney Truitt Eiland Laubenberg Turner Eissler Lewis Uresti Elkins Luna Van Arsdale Ellis Mabry Villarreal Farabee Madden West Farrar Marchant Wilson Flores Martinez Fischer Wise Flynn McCall Wohlgemuth Gallego McClendon Wolens Garza McReynolds Wong Gattis Menendez Woolley Geren Mercer Zedler ______________________________ ______________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 63 was adopted by the House on February 26, 2003, by a non-record vote. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 63 was adopted by the Senate on February 26, 2003, by a viva-voce vote. ______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: __________________ Date __________________ Governor