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.