HBA-MPA H.B. 1859 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1859
By: Gutierrez
Transportation
3/22/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the state of California operates one-stop, multi-agency border
inspection facilities.  In California the inspection stations at Otay Mesa
and Calexico allow commercial vehicle motor carriers from Mexico to
purchase insurance and file appropriate paperwork, register vehicles, and
buy fuels permits.  Vehicles are inspected for compliance with federal and
state regulations, and taxes and tariffs are collected on freight.
Locating these facilities on major corridors of commercial trucking could
benefit federal, state, and municipal agencies with the statutory
responsibility to regulate commercial vehicle traffic at the border.  

H.B. 1859 requires the Texas Department of Transportation to develop a
proposal to provide for onestop border inspection stations to be located
along the border, which may help improve state and federal tax collections
and traffic flow, and enhancing safety inspections. 

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. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Requires the Texas Department of Transportation, during the
state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 1999, to develop a proposal to
construct a one-stop inspection facility at one or more locations at the
border of this state and Mexico, and to seek federal funding for the
facilities, including funding under the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (Pub. L. No. 105-178). 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.  This Act expires August 31,
2001. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.