HBA-CMT H.B. 3551 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3551
By: Raymond
Transportation
4/12/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Texas border
crossings are estimated to carry  approximately 80 percent of commercial
truck traffic between  the United States and Mexico, and most of that
traffic flows through the Laredo, Brownsville, and El Paso ports of entry.
Legislation was enacted during the 76th Legislature to require TxDOT to
establish and maintain one-stop border inspection stations at Laredo,
Brownsville and El Paso to expedite the flow of cross-border commercial
traffic. However, the legislation contained no provision allowing
municipalities the decision making authority to determine  where these
facilities would be located.  House Bill 3551 increases the number of
inspection facilities to eight, provides greater flexibility to TxDOT in
the location of the inspection stations,  authorizes a municipality to
choose the location of an inspection station if it is to be located within
the municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, and provides that
construction of the facilities is suspended if appropriate United States
and Mexican agencies agree to implement a program where Mexican commercial
motor vehicles are inspected and cleared on the Mexico side of the border. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

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

ANALYSIS

House Bill 3551 amends the Transportation Code to require the Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to erect and maintain eight border
inspection facilities that are within 60 miles of the Rio Grande in the
Pharr, Laredo, and El Paso districts for the inspection of motor vehicles
after the vehicles have been inspected for compliance with federal
regulations.  The bill authorizes a municipality to choose the location of
a facility if the facility is to be located in the municipality or the
municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction. The bill requires TxDOT to
begin construction of the facilities at or about the same time and to take
reasonable steps to ensure that construction of the facilities progresses
equally.  

Implementation of the construction and maintenance of the border inspection
facilities is suspended if the appropriate agencies that inspect commercial
motor vehicles entering this state from the United Mexican States and the
officials of the appropriate agencies in the United Mexican States agree to
implement a program under which commercial motor vehicles are inspected by
those state agencies before the vehicles enter this state.  The period of
suspension continues as long as such a program is in effect.  The bill
requires the appropriate state agencies to initiate efforts to develop a
program for the inspection of commercial motor vehicles entering this state
with the appropriate counterpart agencies in the United Mexican States as
soon as practicable. 

The bill requires TxDOT to spend money previously appropriated by the
legislature or received from the federal government for one-stop border
inspection stations to establish the border inspection facilities as
required in the bill.     


 EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.