SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 614

WHEREAS, the City of Irving is hosting the Tenth Anniversary Transportation Summit August 7 through 10, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Over the years, this summit has evolved from a modest transportation forum into a nationally and internationally known conference that is considered required attendance among those in the transportation arena; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Anniversary Summit's theme is "The Future Starts Today"; experts will review, discuss, and outline the factors that will drive growth and change in transportation over the next 50 years; and

WHEREAS, Conceived and developed as a national defense initiative to help move troops from coast to coast, the interstate highways have been of immeasurable benefit to our nation by spurring the economy and by facilitating the travel of a growing population; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Anniversary Transportation Summit is intended to commemorate advances of the past and to focus on future transportation needs in order to create a renaissance for multimodal transportation investment over the next 50 years; and

WHEREAS, Coordinated by the City of Irving and Dean International, Incorporated, the summit is expected to be the largest yet of this series, with some 1,200 people from around the world attending the four-day event; the impressive list of confirmed speakers includes local, regional, and state elected officials, along with state, national, and international transportation experts; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Anniversary Transportation Summit has an ever-growing list of national cohost organizations, including Advanced Transit Association, American Bus Association, American Concrete Institute, American Highway Users Alliance, American Public Transportation Association, American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, Association for Commuter Transportation, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, National Association of Counties, National Association of Development Organizations, National Association of Regional Councils, National Propane Gas Association, National Society of Professional Engineers, North Texas Commission, SAE International, Transrapid International--USA, United States Chamber of Commerce, United Motorcoach Association, and WTS International; and

WHEREAS, The list of major sponsors of the Tenth Anniversary Transportation Summit is growing rapidly and includes Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Harris County Toll Road Authority, Port of Houston Authority, Fort Worth Transportation Authority, Denton County Transportation Authority, Freese and Nichols, TRC Engineers, Incorporated, The Allen Group, Halff Associates, Nathan D. Maier Consulting Engineers, Houston Airport System, Garver Engineers, Teague, Nall and Perkins, Craig Olden, Incorporated, and Clean Energy; and

WHEREAS, The summit has cohost cities and counties taking part in the multimodal transportation event, including Burleson, Del Rio, Grand Prairie, Allen, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Coppell, Duncanville, DeSoto, El Paso, Forest Hill, Frisco, Highland Village, Hillsboro, Lancaster, Mansfield, North Richland Hills, Temple, Waxahachie, Dallas County, Harris County, and the City of Portsmouth, Virginia; and

WHEREAS, The event is designed to provide public policy leaders at all levels, at home and abroad, and representatives of widely varied transportation entities an opportunity to share ideas and to agree on common goals for the future of transportation; and

WHEREAS, The State of Texas should be a national leader in assessing the transportation infrastructure of years past and in creating a model for the future, and the Tenth Anniversary Transportation Summit enjoys support from scores of elected Texas officials at all levels of government and from state and national public-sector entities; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 80th Legislature, hereby commend the City of Irving for its efforts to further awareness of transportation issues and for hosting the Tenth Anniversary Transportation Summit and recognize the transportation summit as the premier event for policy makers and leaders in business and industry across the state who have an interest in transportation issues; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas Senate encourage all transportation-related agencies in the state and all those in the legislative and executive branches who are concerned with transportation matters to attend and participate in the Tenth Anniversary Transportation Summit. Shapiro

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President of the Senate

I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on March 29, 2007.

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Secretary of the Senate

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Member, Texas Senate