78R3607 CLE-D

By:  Shapleigh                                                  S.C.R. No. 20 



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, Mexico is the United States' second-largest trading 
partner, and 76 percent of all U.S. trade with Mexico passes through 
Texas, according to the Center for Transportation Research at The 
University of Texas at Austin; and
	WHEREAS, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records 
confirm that Texas has seven of the nation's 10 busiest southern 
border crossings, and every day 12,000 trucks transporting goods 
valued at $290 million use Texas ports of entry and border 
commercial zones; and
	WHEREAS, Mexican trucks can travel within the U.S. interior 
under terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and as of 
January 2003, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) had 
received more than 130 applications to exercise this travel 
authority once associated legal issues are resolved and the border 
is opened to long-haul carriers; and
	WHEREAS, USDOT reports a direct correlation between the 
condition of Mexican trucks entering the U.S. and the level of 
inspection resources at the border; and
	WHEREAS, Texas has no permanent border safety inspection 
facilities to ensure that vehicles and cargo entering the U.S. 
comply with state and federal safety standards; rather, inspections 
in Texas are confined to eight temporary state facilities and to 
federal customs lots; and
	WHEREAS, The 76th Texas Legislature passed legislation in 
1999 relating to the establishment of one-stop border inspection 
stations where all federal, state, and municipal agencies that 
regulate cross-border traffic could be located in one place; and
	WHEREAS, One-stop inspection stations would provide a single 
point of contact between motor carriers and government regulators 
and a single point of information about regulatory requirements; 
and
	WHEREAS, The stations also would prevent duplication of state 
and federal inspections and facilitate links in government 
information systems; and
	WHEREAS, Sharing the same location, eliminating redundant 
inspections, and using modern technology should reduce truck 
crossing times to 10 minutes, which is the concept behind one-stop 
border vehicle inspection facilities; and
	WHEREAS, Decisions made in Washington in the coming months 
will define border commerce for the next 10 years, affecting not 
only trade but also highway damage prevention, environmental 
protection, and drug interdiction; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to fund 
one-stop border vehicle inspection facilities; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 
the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the 
senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the 
Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.