By: Hunter (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.C.R. No. 108
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2015;
May 18, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
Resources and Economic Development; May 22, 2015, reported
favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 2; May 22, 2015,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The cruise operations in the home port of Galveston
have an enormous economic impact on Texas; the city hosted more than
900,000 passenger and crew visits in 2013, which accounted for $1.2
billion in direct spending; in addition, the industry was
responsible for generating over 20,000 Texas jobs and paying $1.16
billion in wage income; and
WHEREAS, South of Galveston, between Calhoun and Cameron
Counties, from the tip of the Golden Crescent, along the Coastal
Bend, to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas is home to several
growing cities, robust tourism, and a wealth of natural resources;
the area, with more than 150 miles of Gulf shoreline, also harbors
three major deepwater ports, any of which might be a viable site for
a cruise line headquarters or a port of embarkation; and
WHEREAS, Florida and California, respectively, benefit the
most from the North American cruise industry; Florida operates five
cruise ports, including Port Canaveral, Port Everglades,
Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa, and California is home to four, in
Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco; an
additional Texas cruise ship port between Calhoun and Cameron
Counties could offer an attractive vacation option for a
significant portion of the state's residents and be an economic
boon to the state as a whole; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby request the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house
of representatives to create a joint interim committee to conduct a
study regarding the development of a cruise industry on the Texas
coast between Calhoun and Cameron Counties, including its potential
economic impact and options for incentives to attract the cruise
industry to South Texas; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be
governed by such general rules and policies for joint interim
committees as the 84th Legislature may adopt.
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