H.B. No. 925
AN ACT
relating to border issues.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.0197 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.0197. ADVISORY OVERSIGHT COMMUNITY OUTREACH
COMMITTEE. (a) The commission shall establish an Advisory
Oversight Community Outreach Committee in the department and may
adopt rules for the implementation and operation of the committee.
The committee shall meet at the times and places specified by
commission rule or at the call of the presiding officer or any two
members.
(b) The commission shall appoint the members of the
committee, which must include border crossing bridge owners,
persons serving in the capacity of director of entities governing
ports of entry, community leaders, planning developers, mayors, or
persons designated by mayors, of the major municipalities in the
area of the border of this state and the United Mexican States,
representatives of law enforcement agencies, and representatives
of the general public.
(c) The commission shall designate the presiding officer of
the committee from among the committee's members. The presiding
officer serves at the will of the commission.
(d) The committee shall:
(1) document to the commission trade-related
incidents involving department personnel;
(2) develop recommendations and strategies to improve
community relations, department personnel conduct, and the truck
inspection process at this state's ports of entry; and
(3) act as ombudsman between the department and the
communities located and residents residing in the area of the
border of this state and the United Mexican States and between the
department and the department's personnel.
(e) In determining action to be taken on the information and
recommendations received from the committee, the commission shall
consider the importance of trade with the United Mexican States,
the safety of the traveling public, preservation of the highway
system, applicable federal laws and regulations, and the concerns
expressed by communities.
(f) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year the
commission shall submit to the lieutenant governor, speaker of the
house of representatives, and each other member of the legislature
a report documenting the committee's recommendations and comments,
incident reports received by the committee, and the actions taken
by the commission and department to address those matters.
SECTION 2. Subtitle F, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 490 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 490. TEXAS-MEXICO STRATEGIC INVESTMENT COMMISSION
Sec. 490.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas-Mexico Strategic
Investment Commission.
(2) "Texas-Mexico border region" has the meaning
assigned by Section 2056.002.
Sec. 490.002. PURPOSE. The ongoing economic stability and
growth of Texas and the improved quality of life for all Texans are
dependent in part on coordination with neighboring states. Texas
and the Mexican border states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon,
and Tamaulipas face common challenges in the areas of
infrastructure, health care, access to and availability of water,
economic development and trade, and environmental protection. The
commission will encourage a collaborative approach between Texas
and neighboring Mexican states in specific areas so as to better
address challenges and plan for the future.
Sec. 490.003. TEXAS-MEXICO STRATEGIC INVESTMENT
COMMISSION; MEMBERS. (a) The Texas-Mexico Strategic Investment
Commission is established.
(b) The commission is composed of:
(1) the border commerce coordinator or a designee;
(2) the executive director of the Texas Department of
Transportation or a designee;
(3) the executive administrator of the Texas Water
Development Board or a designee;
(4) the commissioner of state health services or a
designee;
(5) the chair of the Railroad Commission or a
designee; and
(6) the executive director of the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality or a designee.
(c) The border commerce coordinator shall serve as the chair
of the commission.
Sec. 490.004. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. (a) The commission
shall:
(1) represent government agencies within the
Texas-Mexico border region to help reduce regulations by improving
communication and cooperation between federal, state, and local
governments;
(2) examine trade issues between the United States and
Mexico;
(3) study the flow of commerce at ports of entry
between this state and Mexico, including the movement of commercial
vehicles across the border, and establish a plan to aid that
commerce and improve the movement of those vehicles;
(4) work with federal officials to resolve
transportation issues involving infrastructure, including roads
and bridges, to allow for the efficient movement of goods and people
across the border between Texas and Mexico;
(5) work with federal officials to create a unified
federal agency process to streamline border crossing needs;
(6) identify problems involved with border truck
inspections and related trade and transportation infrastructure;
(7) work to increase funding for the North American
Development Bank to assist in the financing of water and wastewater
facilities;
(8) explore the sale of excess electric power from
Texas to Mexico;
(9) identify areas of environmental protection that
need to be addressed cooperatively between Texas and the Mexican
states;
(10) identify common challenges to health care on
which all states can collaborate; and
(11) develop recommendations, when possible, for
addressing border challenges.
(b) The commission shall work with local governments,
metropolitan planning organizations, and other appropriate
community organizations in the Texas Department of
Transportation's Pharr, Laredo, and El Paso transportation
districts, and with comparable entities in Mexican states bordering
those districts, to address the unique planning and capacity needs
of those areas. The commission shall assist those governments,
organizations, and entities to identify and develop initiatives to
address those needs.
(c) The commission shall work with industries and
communities on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border to develop
international industry cluster initiatives to capitalize on
resources available in communities located adjacent to each other
across the border.
(d) The commission may meet at least once a year with
representatives from the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila,
Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas during the Border Governors Conference
to discuss issues and challenges of the Texas-Mexico border region
and develop strategic collaborative approaches for addressing the
challenges.
Sec. 490.005. FUNDING. (a) In addition to any amount
appropriated by the legislature, the commission may request state
agencies to apply for funds from the federal government or any other
public or private entity. The commission may also solicit grants,
gifts, and donations from private sources on the state's behalf.
The use of a gift, grant, or donation solicited under this section
must be consistent with the purposes of the commission.
(b) The commission shall review and may require reports of
state agencies that receive appropriations, gifts, grants,
donations, or endowments as a result of the commission's
recommendations.
(c) A state agency may accept a gift, grant, donation, or
endowment received as a result of the commission's recommendations.
SECTION 3. (a) Section 772.010, Government Code, as added
by Chapters 429 and 1339, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 772.010. BORDER COMMERCE COORDINATOR. (a) The
governor shall designate a border commerce coordinator in the
governor's office or the office of the secretary of state as
determined by the governor. The coordinator shall:
(1) examine trade issues between the United States,
Mexico, and Canada;
(2) act as an ombudsman for government agencies within
the Texas and Mexico border region to help reduce regulations by
improving communication and cooperation between federal, state,
and local governments;
(3) study the flow of commerce at ports of entry
between this state and Mexico, including the movement of commercial
vehicles across the border,[;] and establish a plan to aid that
commerce and improve the movement of those vehicles;
(4) [(3)] work with federal officials to resolve
transportation issues involving infrastructure, including roads
and bridges, to allow for the efficient movement of goods and people
across the border between Texas and Mexico;
(5) [(4)] work with federal officials to create a
unified federal agency process to streamline border crossing needs;
(6) [(5)] work to increase funding for the North
American Development Bank to assist in the financing of water and
wastewater facilities; and
(7) [(6)] explore the sale of excess electric power
from Texas to Mexico.
(b) The governor shall appoint a border commerce
coordinator to serve at the will of the governor in the governor's
office or in the office of the secretary of state and may select the
secretary of state as the coordinator.
(c) The coordinator shall work with the interagency work
group established under Section 772.011, and with local
governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and other
appropriate community organizations adjacent to the border of this
state with the United Mexican States, and with comparable entities
in Mexican states adjacent to that border, to address the unique
planning and capacity needs of those areas. The coordinator shall
assist those governments, organizations, and entities to identify
and develop initiatives to address those needs. Before January 1
of each year, the coordinator shall submit to the presiding officer
of each house of the legislature a report of the coordinator's
activities under this subsection during the preceding year.
(d) The coordinator shall:
(1) work with private industry and appropriate
entities of Texas and the United States to require that low-sulfur
fuel be sold along highways in Texas carrying increased traffic
related to activities under the North American Free Trade
Agreement; and
(2) work with representatives of the government of
Mexico and the governments of those Mexican states bordering Texas
to increase the use of low-sulfur fuel.
(b) Chapter 772, Government Code, is amended by adding
Sections 772.0101 and 772.0102 to read as follows:
Sec. 772.0101. BORDER INSPECTION, TRADE, AND
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The border commerce
coordinator shall establish and appoint the members of the Border
Inspection, Trade, and Transportation Advisory Committee. The
members must include representatives of the Texas Department of
Transportation, the Department of Public Safety of the State of
Texas, the Office of State-Federal Relations, the United States
Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, and other representatives of state and federal
agencies involved in border crossing issues. Chapter 2110 does not
apply to the size, composition, or duration of the Border
Inspection, Trade, and Transportation Advisory Committee.
(b) The coordinator shall work with the advisory committee
and the interagency work group established under Section 772.011
to:
(1) identify problems involved with border truck
inspections and related trade and transportation infrastructure;
and
(2) develop recommendations for addressing those
problems.
(c) The coordinator shall work with the advisory committee
and appropriate agencies of Texas, the United States, and Mexico to
develop initiatives to mitigate congestion at ports of entry at the
Mexican border by conducting in Mexico inspections of trucks
entering Texas. In developing the initiatives, the coordinator
shall give consideration to similar initiatives proposed or
implemented at the border of the United States and Canada.
(d) The coordinator shall report quarterly to the presiding
officer of each house of the legislature on the findings and
recommendations of the advisory committee.
Sec. 772.0102. TRADE AND COMMERCE PLAN. (a) The border
commerce coordinator shall develop, in conjunction with
representatives of chambers of commerce, metropolitan planning
organizations adjacent to the United Mexican States, and private
industry groups, and with the advice of the interagency work group
established under Section 772.011, a comprehensive trade and
commerce plan for the region designed to:
(1) increase trade by attracting new business
ventures;
(2) support expansion of existing industries; and
(3) address workforce training needs.
(b) The plan must cover five-year, 10-year, and 15-year
periods.
(c) The coordinator shall work with industries and
communities on both sides of the border to develop international
industry cluster initiatives to capitalize on resources available
in communities located adjacent to each other across the border.
(d) The coordinator shall conduct annual conferences of
interested persons, working with chambers of commerce and
universities of this state along the Texas and Mexico border
region, and shall host those conferences at no cost to the
coordinator. The purposes of the conferences are to:
(1) make the trade and commerce plan public;
(2) report on updated findings and progress of
implementation of the plan; and
(3) develop new international industry cluster
initiatives.
(c) This section takes effect only if a specific
appropriation for the implementation of this section is provided in
S.B. No. 1 (General Appropriations Act), Acts of the 79th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2005. If no specific appropriation
is provided in the General Appropriations Act, this section has no
effect.
SECTION 4. Chapter 772, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 772.011 to read as follows:
Sec. 772.011. INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP ON BORDER ISSUES. (a)
An interagency work group is created to:
(1) develop or update a process to allow agencies to
work together on issues that face border communities;
(2) discuss and coordinate programs and services
offered to border communities and residents of border communities;
and
(3) develop regulatory and legislative
recommendations to eliminate duplication and combine program
services.
(b) The work group is composed of the heads of the following
agencies or their designees:
(1) the Office of Rural Community Affairs;
(2) the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs;
(3) the Texas Water Development Board;
(4) the Texas Department of Transportation;
(5) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
(6) the Texas Workforce Commission;
(7) the Department of State Health Services;
(8) the Health and Human Services Commission;
(9) the General Land Office;
(10) the Texas Education Agency;
(11) the Texas Economic Development and Tourism
Office;
(12) the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations;
(13) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
(14) the attorney general's office;
(15) the secretary of state's office;
(16) the Department of Public Safety; and
(17) the Railroad Commission.
(c) The work group shall meet at least once each year in
Austin to discuss border issues and to provide information showing
the impact each agency has on border communities for use in
developing border policy.
(d) In this section, "border region" means the portion of
this state located within 100 kilometers of this state's
international border.
(e) In fulfilling its duties, the work group shall consider
the effect of policies instituted by the federal government
impacting the border region.
SECTION 5. Section 502.054(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department, through its director, may enter into an
agreement with an authorized officer of another jurisdiction,
including another state of the United States, a foreign country or a
state, province, territory, or possession of a foreign country, to
provide for:
(1) the registration of vehicles by residents of this
state and nonresidents on an allocation or mileage apportionment
plan, as under the International Registration Plan; and
(2) the exemption from payment of registration fees by
nonresidents if residents of this state are granted reciprocal
exemptions.
SECTION 6. Section 112.003, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 112.003. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The foundation shall
raise money from other foundations, governmental entities, and
other sources to finance health programs [in this state] in areas
adjacent to the border with the United Mexican States.
(b) The foundation shall:
(1) identify and seek potential partners in the
private sector that will afford this state the opportunity to
maintain or increase the existing levels of financing of health
programs and activities;
(2) engage in outreach efforts to make the existence
of the office known to potential partners throughout this area
[state]; and
(3) perform any other function necessary to carry out
the purposes of this section.
(c) The department shall review programs from all agencies
under its control to determine which projects should be available
to receive money under Subsection (a).
(d) The foundation has the powers necessary and convenient
to carry out its duties.
SECTION 7. Section 112.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 112.004. ADMINISTRATION. (a) The foundation is
governed by a board of five directors [appointed by the Texas Board
of Health from individuals recommended by the commissioner].
Vacancies shall be filled by a vote of the board of directors of the
foundation from individuals recommended by the department.
(b) Members of the board of directors serve for staggered
terms of six years, with as near as possible to one-third of the
members' terms expiring every two years.
(c) Appointments to the board of directors shall be made
without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age,
or national origin of the appointees.
(d) The board of directors shall ensure that the foundation
remains eligible for an exemption from federal income tax under
Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, by being
listed as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of that
code, as amended.
SECTION 8. Subchapter D, Chapter 6, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 6.112 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.112. BORDER PROJECTS WEBSITE. (a) In this section,
"border region" means the portion of this state located within 100
kilometers of this state's international border.
(b) The board may maintain and update an Internet-based
directory of border projects, also know as the Border Activity
Tracker, containing information about projects in the border region
in which a state agency is involved. The board shall establish
guidelines as to which projects and information are to be included
in the directory.
(c) Each state agency involved in a project in the border
region may electronically submit to the board any information
required under this section to be on the Internet-based directory
of border projects. Each state agency shall update the information
promptly, not less often than quarterly.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 925 was passed by the House on May 20,
2005, by a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in Senate
amendments to H.B. No. 925 on May 29, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 925 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 25, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays
3.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor