By:  Madla, Estes                                               S.C.R. No. 19 



SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, In recognition of both the direct and indirect 
revenues that could be generated for the state by a robust wine 
industry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst charged the Senate 
Committee on Intergovernmental Relations of the 78th Legislature to 
study and make recommendations relating to the development of the 
Texas wine industry, assess the impact of state and federal laws on 
the shipment and delivery of wine, and make recommendations for 
increasing the economic impact of the wine industry in Texas; and
	WHEREAS, The Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations 
found that Texas has all the elements necessary to be a competitive 
force in the national and international wine industries; the Texas 
wine industry could prove to be a stellar economic generator for the 
state, and with the proper policies in place, the industry is 
positioned to boom within the next five to 10 years; and
	WHEREAS, Although progress has been made through the years, 
insufficient funding and budget reductions for new and existing 
education, training, and research hinder the development of the 
industry; moreover, the lack of a consistent, coordinated, and 
centralized effort among industry stakeholders and public policy 
makers to develop appropriate programs and policies, to explore, 
develop, and access relevant funding streams, and to communicate 
concerns and needs to appropriate parties impedes the development 
of this industry to its full potential; and
	WHEREAS, It is difficult to compete successfully in a market 
if there is no clear picture of the status of the competition; and
	WHEREAS, Although there is a great deal of data available 
regarding wine industries throughout the United States, there are 
also great inconsistencies in the data that is collected, how the 
data is collected and compiled, the resources and standards that 
are applied, the time frames that are employed, and the form in 
which the data is published; and
	WHEREAS, An annual posting of comparable data from those 
states in closest competition with Texas would prove to be a 
valuable tool to our wine industry; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 79th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby respectfully request the Texas Wine Marketing Research 
Institute at Texas Tech University to include in its data 
collection and reporting, as funding and information resources 
allow, a basic comparison of the economic impacts of the Texas, 
California, New York, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, 
Virginia, and other closely competitive wine industries and that 
the data be published annually and include for each state:  (1)  the 
number of wineries permitted by the United States Alcohol and 
Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureaus; (2)  the amount of wine produced, as 
reported to the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 
Bureaus; (3)  total wine sales; (4)  excise, sales, and franchise 
taxes paid; (5)  the number of wine grape growers; (6)  total wine 
grape acreage; (7)  grape production as reported by the United 
States Department of Agriculture; (8)  the value of the wine grapes 
grown; (9)  the number of full-time equivalent wine industry jobs; 
(10)  total wages paid; (11)  revenues from wine-related tourism; 
(12)  the estimated number of visitors; (13)  charitable 
contributions made; (14)  the total economic impact; and (15)  any 
other information that would prove valuable to the Texas wine 
industry; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an 
official copy of this resolution to the chairman of the board of 
regents of the Texas Tech University System.