C.S.H.B. 3554 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 3554 By: Raymond Transportation Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE HB 3554 78(R)Currently the Texas Department of Transportation is in the process of building eight inspection stations and may choose a site for a border inspection station without consultation or approval from the affected municipality. Cities with large commercial border crossing traffic are concerned that if the inspection station location is not carefully chosen to minimize traffic delay and congestion, unsafe traffic patterns and increased pollution will result. CSHB 3554 allows cities that had at least 900,000 commercial border crossings in state fiscal year ending August 31, 2002 to direct where the inspection station will be located if the station is to be located inside the city limits or the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS The bill directs the Texas Department of Transportation to build eight inspection stations to inspect vehicles entering the United States from Mexico. The stations shall be built within sixty miles of the Rio Grande. If the Department chooses to locate the inspection station inside a municipality or a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, and the municipality has a bridge system that had over 900,000 commercial border crossings in state fiscal year ending August 31, 2002, the municipality may choose the location of the inspection station. The municipality must choose the location within 180 days of a request by the Department to do so. The Department shall begin construction of the inspection stations at or about the same time and shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the construction of the facilities progresses equally. EFFECTIVE DATE Upon passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute is a Texas Legislative Council clean up draft that makes conforming changes and also changes the number of commercial border crossings from 500,000 per year to 900,000 during the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2002.