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78R3034 MMS-D

By:  Geren                                                        H.R. No. 15 



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, 2003 marks the 100th anniversary of powered, manned 
flight, and the aerospace enterprise has played a significant role 
in the emergence of modern-day Texas; and
	WHEREAS, Aviation has long benefited two of the state's 
preeminent industries--agriculture, through such activities as 
aerial seeding, fertilizing, and crop dusting, and oil, through 
aerial surveying, convenient travel between scattered drilling 
sites, and the ferrying of cargo and crews to offshore rigs; a 
mainstay of business, general aviation has also facilitated the 
conduct of fire fighting and law enforcement and the transport of 
critically ill and injured individuals to hospitals; and
	WHEREAS, Texas received its first commercial air service in 
1925, and the rapid development of the commercial airline industry 
proved enormously beneficial to both business and the general 
public; by 1999, Texas commercial airports served more than 66.3 
million passengers, and ease of travel had encouraged a number of  
international firms to make Texas the site of their headquarters or 
other important operations; and
	WHEREAS, Military aviation, too, has figured prominently in 
the annals of the state; during World Wars I and II, Texas became 
host to numerous flight training fields, owing to its favorable 
climate and level plains, and the state continued to serve as the 
site of major air bases during the ensuing Cold War; since the 
1940s, Texas has also been home to major aircraft manufacturing 
plants; and
	WHEREAS, Just 53 years after Houston witnessed the state's 
first airplane flight, on February 18, 1910, the city welcomed the 
opening of the nation's Manned Spacecraft Center in September 1963; 
now known as the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, this facility 
currently has responsibility for the space shuttle program and the 
country's participation in the international space station; with 
more than 16,000 workers, the Johnson Space Center injects $4 
billion annually into the local economy; and
	WHEREAS, Supporting aviation in Texas is an extensive 
infrastructure, ranging from airports and landing strips to 
manufacturers, service providers, university research, and 
governmental assistance; the Aviation Division of the Texas 
Department of Transportation, established in 1945 as the Texas 
Aeronautics Commission, plays a key role in dispensing federal and 
state funds for the improvement of facilities and in attracting new 
aerospace business and industry to the state; and
	WHEREAS, Aviation touches the lives of Texans in myriad ways 
and constitutes a vital and expanding segment of the Texas economy; 
now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature hereby recognize January 13-26, 2003, as the Centennial 
of Flight Celebration in the State of Texas and encourage all Texans 
to participate in the festivities and to support the aerospace 
enterprise in the Lone Star State.