BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1208
87R9274 DRS-D	By: Hall
	Transportation
	3/23/2021
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Staff Sergeant Shawn H. McNabb was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, GA. He died October 26, 2009, of wounds suffered when the MH‑47G helicopter he was aboard crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan. Low visibility was blamed for the crash, which happened around 3:30 a.m. when soldiers and federal agents lifted off in the helicopter after an operation to disrupt arms smuggling and drug trafficking (Operation Lexington) in the Darreh-ye Bum Village in Qadis District, according to information from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Thick dust stirred up from the takeoff overwhelmed the visibility of the crew, according to ISAF. When the crew tried to correct the aircraft's movement, it struck a tall structure and crashed.

SSG McNabb was born on May 14, 1985. He was a native of Terrell, Texas, and volunteered for Army service in July 2003. Following Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, SSG McNabb served with the 702nd Combat Support Medical Company at Camp Casey, South Korea, as a health care specialist. His day‑to‑day job while in Korea was working out of a warehouse. SSG McNabb knew he was meant to do more and wanted a challenge so he left the unit.

In October 2005 he was assigned to the 57th Air Medical Ambulance Company at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as a flight medic. In 2008, he successfully assessed with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) as an emergency care sergeant. He served in 325 missions while on a nine-month deployment when he was with the 57th company. Out of those 325 missions, 53 were live-saving. SSG McNabb arrived to 3rd Battalion, 160th SOAR (A), Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, in July 2008.

He was a combat veteran with five deployments, all in support of the Global War on Terrorism. SSG Shawn McNabb is survived by his loving parents, David and Ann McNabb of Terrell; sister, Heather Gray, and her husband, Josh, of Waxahachie, TX; and fianc�, Sarah Jane Kirk, of Savannah, GA.

S.B. 1208 designates the State Highway 276 bridge over Lake Tawakoni in Hunt County and Rains County as the Staff Sergeant Shawn Henry McNabb Memorial Bridge in his honor.

As proposed, S.B. 1208 amends current law relating to the designation of a portion of State Highway 276 in Hunt and Rains Counties as the Staff Sergeant Shawn Henry McNabb Memorial Bridge.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 225, Transportation Code, by adding Section 225.190, as follows:

Sec. 225.190. STAFF SERGEANT SHAWN HENRY MCNABB MEMORIAL HIGHWAY. (a) Provides that the State Highway 276 bridge over Lake Tawakoni in Hunt County and Rains County is designated as the Staff Sergeant Shawn Henry McNabb Memorial Bridge.

(b) Requires the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), subject to Section 225.021(c) (relating to prohibiting TxDOT from designing, constructing, or erecting a marker unless a grant or donation of funds is made to TxDOT to cover the cost of the design, construction, and erection of the marker) to design and construct markers indicating the designation as the Staff Sergeant Shawn Henry McNabb Memorial Bridge and any other appropriate information, and erect a marker at each end of the bridge.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2021.