HBA-KDB H.C.R. 234 77(R)    HBA-KDB H.C.R. 234 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.C.R. 234
By: Swinford
Transportation
4/27/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Transportation legislation enacted by the United  States Congress has
identified 43 highway corridors as being nationally significant for moving
people and commerce.   Five of these corridors are located wholly or
partially in Texas and are eligible for priority construction and increased
funding.   High Priority Corridor 38, officially designated the
Ports-to-Plains Corridor (corridor), will stretch approximately 800 miles
across Texas to cover approximately 110  counties with a combined
population of five million.  Approximately 80 percent of overland trade
traffic between the United States and Mexico crosses Texas border ports of
entry, and 40 percent of this traffic travels to destinations outside this
state.  The Federal Highway Administration has found that arterial roads
leading to and from border crossing sites are under stress and will be
hard-pressed to handle significantly greater amounts of cross-border
traffic.  The corridor will serve as a direct connection with the
Texas-Mexico border and will provide a much-needed route for handling the
increased international trade  traffic created by the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In addition to relieving trade traffic created by
NAFTA, the corridor will also provide alternatives to congested corridors
that run through metropolitan areas that are already facing air quality
problems, and will help to develop other routes that will coincide with
other major economic development initiatives.  The Texas Department of
Transportation has identified the corridor as a necessary and important
project and has allocated $134 million toward the development of a
four-lane divided highway that is part of the Texas Trunk System.  House
Concurrent Resolution 234 urges Congress to recognize the importance of the
development of the corridor as a trade route and to fund the completion of
a corridor management plan so that the development of the corridor can
begin in a timely manner. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this resolution
does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Concurrent Resolution 234 urges the Congress of the United States to
recognize the importance of the development of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor
as a trade route and to fund the completion of a corridor management plan
so that the development of the corridor can begin in a timely manner.