Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1953 Compare Versions

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1	1	2015S0442-1 03/10/15
2	2	By: Hinojosa, et al. S.B. No. 1953
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of the Texas-Mexico Commission.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 490B, Government Code, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 490B. TEXAS-MEXICO [STRATEGIC INVESTMENT] COMMISSION
12	12	SECTION 2. Sections 490B.001, 490B.002, and 490B.003,
13	13	Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 490B.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Advisory committee" means the border inspection,
16	16	trade, and transportation advisory committee established under
17	17	Section 490B.009.
18	18	(2) "Commission" means the Texas-Mexico [Strategic
19	19	Investment] Commission.
20	20	(3) "Director" means the border affairs director.
21	21	(4) "Interagency work group" means the interagency
22	22	work group on border issues established under Section 490B.008.
23	23	(5) [(2)] "Texas-Mexico border region" has the
24	24	meaning assigned by Section 2056.002.
25	25	Sec. 490B.002. PURPOSE. The ongoing economic stability and
26	26	growth of Texas and the improved quality of life for all Texans are
27	27	dependent in part on coordination with neighboring states. Texas
28	28	and the Mexican border states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon,
29	29	and Tamaulipas face common challenges in the areas of
30	30	infrastructure, health care, access to and availability of water,
31	31	economic development and trade, security and public safety, and
32	32	environmental protection. The commission will encourage a
33	33	collaborative approach between Texas and neighboring Mexican
34	34	states in specific areas so as to better address challenges and plan
35	35	for the future.
36	36	Sec. 490B.003. TEXAS-MEXICO [STRATEGIC INVESTMENT]
37	37	COMMISSION; MEMBERS. (a) The Texas-Mexico [Strategic Investment]
38	38	Commission is established.
39	39	(b) The commission is composed of:
40	40	(1) the director [border commerce coordinator] or the
41	41	director's [a] designee;
42	42	(2) the secretary of state [executive director of the
43	43	Texas Department of Transportation] or the secretary's [a]
44	44	designee;
45	45	(3) one member appointed by the governor;
46	46	(4) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor;
47	47	and
48	48	(5) one member appointed by the speaker of the house of
49	49	representatives [the executive administrator of the Texas Water
50	50	Development Board or a designee;
51	51	[(4) the commissioner of state health services or a
52	52	designee;
53	53	[(5) the chair of the Railroad Commission or a designee;
54	54	and
55	55	[(6) the executive director of the Texas Commission on
56	56	Environmental Quality or a designee].
57	57	(c) The secretary of state or the secretary's designee
58	58	[border commerce coordinator] shall serve as the chair of the
59	59	commission.
60	60	(d) To be eligible for appointment to the commission by the
61	61	governor, lieutenant governor, or speaker of the house of
62	62	representatives, a person must have resided in a county that
63	63	borders the United Mexican States for the three years immediately
64	64	preceding the date on which the person's term will begin.
65	65	SECTION 3. Section 490B.004, Government Code, is amended by
66	66	amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read
67	67	as follows:
68	68	(a) The commission shall:
69	69	(1) represent government agencies within the
70	70	Texas-Mexico border region to help reduce regulations by improving
71	71	communication and cooperation between federal, state, and local
72	72	governments;
73	73	(2) examine trade issues between the United States and
74	74	Mexico;
75	75	(3) study the flow of commerce at ports of entry
76	76	between this state and Mexico, including the movement of commercial
77	77	vehicles across the border, and establish a plan to aid that
78	78	commerce and improve the movement of those vehicles;
79	79	(4) work with federal officials to resolve
80	80	transportation issues involving infrastructure, including roads
81	81	and bridges, to allow for the efficient movement of goods and people
82	82	across the border between Texas and Mexico;
83	83	(5) work with federal officials to create a unified
84	84	federal agency process to streamline border crossing needs;
85	85	(6) identify problems involved with border truck
86	86	inspections and related trade and transportation infrastructure;
87	87	(7) work to increase funding for the North American
88	88	Development Bank to assist in the financing of water and wastewater
89	89	facilities;
90	90	(8) explore the sale of excess electric power from
91	91	Texas to Mexico;
92	92	(9) identify areas of environmental protection that
93	93	need to be addressed cooperatively between Texas and the Mexican
94	94	states;
95	95	(10) identify common challenges to health care on
96	96	which all states can collaborate; [and]
97	97	(11) develop recommendations, when possible, for
98	98	addressing border security challenges; and
99	99	(12) establish and appoint committees as it considers
100	100	necessary to study specific issues affecting the Texas-Mexico
101	101	border region.
102	102	(d) The commission shall [may] meet at least once a year. In
103	103	each even-numbered year, the commission shall meet for a
104	104	Texas-Mexico Border Summit to be held in a county of this state that
105	105	borders the United Mexican States. The commission shall invite to
106	106	the summit [with] representatives from the Mexican states of
107	107	Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas [during the Border
108	108	Governors Conference] to discuss issues and challenges of the
109	109	Texas-Mexico border region and develop strategic collaborative
110	110	approaches for addressing the challenges.
111	111	(e) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
112	112	commission shall submit to the legislature its recommendations to
113	113	address challenges faced by the Texas-Mexico border region.
114	114	SECTION 4. Chapter 490B, Government Code, is amended by
115	115	adding Sections 490B.006, 490B.007, 490B.008, 490B.009, and
116	116	490B.010 to read as follows:
117	117	Sec. 490B.006. ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT; SUPPORT; BUDGET.
118	118	(a) The commission is administratively attached to the Center for
119	119	Border Economic and Enterprise Development established under
120	120	Section 79.09, Education Code.
121	121	(b) The Center for Border Economic and Enterprise
122	122	Development shall provide administrative support services,
123	123	including human resources, budget, accounting, purchasing,
124	124	payroll, information technology, and legal support services, to the
125	125	commission as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
126	126	(c) The commission, in accordance with the rules and
127	127	procedures of the Legislative Budget Board, shall prepare, approve,
128	128	and submit a legislative appropriations request that is separate
129	129	from the legislative appropriations request for the Center for
130	130	Border Economic and Enterprise Development and that is to be used in
131	131	developing the commission's budget structure. The commission shall
132	132	maintain the commission's legislative appropriations request and
133	133	budget structure separately from those of the center.
134	134	Sec. 490B.007. BORDER AFFAIRS DIRECTOR. (a) The governor
135	135	shall appoint a border affairs director to serve at the will of the
136	136	governor in the governor's office or in the office of the secretary
137	137	of state, as determined by the governor. The director shall:
138	138	(1) examine trade issues between the United States,
139	139	Mexico, and Canada;
140	140	(2) act as an ombudsman for government agencies within
141	141	the Texas-Mexico border region to help reduce regulations by
142	142	improving communication and cooperation between federal, state,
143	143	and local governments;
144	144	(3) study the flow of commerce at ports of entry
145	145	between this state and Mexico, including the movement of commercial
146	146	vehicles across the border, and establish a plan to aid that
147	147	commerce and improve the movement of those vehicles;
148	148	(4) work with federal officials to resolve
149	149	transportation issues involving infrastructure, including roads
150	150	and bridges, to allow for the efficient movement of goods and people
151	151	across the border between Texas and Mexico;
152	152	(5) work with federal officials to create a unified
153	153	federal agency process to streamline border crossing needs;
154	154	(6) work to increase funding for the North American
155	155	Development Bank to assist in the financing of water and wastewater
156	156	facilities; and
157	157	(7) explore the sale of excess electric power from
158	158	Texas to Mexico.
159	159	(b) The director shall work with the interagency work group
160	160	and with local governments, metropolitan planning organizations,
161	161	and other appropriate community organizations adjacent to or
162	162	located near the border between Texas and Mexico, and with
163	163	comparable entities in Mexican states adjacent to that border, to
164	164	address the unique planning and capacity needs of those areas. The
165	165	director shall assist those governments, organizations, and
166	166	entities in identifying and developing initiatives to address those
167	167	needs. Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
168	168	director shall submit to the presiding officer of each house of the
169	169	legislature a report of the director's activities under this
170	170	subsection during the preceding biennium.
171	171	(c) The director shall:
172	172	(1) work with private industry and appropriate
173	173	entities of Texas and the United States to require that low-sulfur
174	174	fuel be sold along highways in Texas carrying increased traffic
175	175	related to activities under the North American Free Trade
176	176	Agreement; and
177	177	(2) work with representatives of the government of
178	178	Mexico and the governments of those Mexican states bordering Texas
179	179	to increase the use of low-sulfur fuel.
180	180	Sec. 490B.008. INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP ON BORDER ISSUES.
181	181	(a) The interagency work group on border issues is created to:
182	182	(1) develop or update a process to allow agencies to
183	183	work together on issues that face border communities;
184	184	(2) discuss and coordinate programs and services
185	185	offered to border communities and residents of border communities;
186	186	and
187	187	(3) develop regulatory and legislative
188	188	recommendations to eliminate duplication and combine program
189	189	services.
190	190	(b) The interagency work group is composed of the heads of
191	191	the following agencies or their designees:
192	192	(1) the Texas Department of Agriculture;
193	193	(2) the Texas Department of Housing and Community
194	194	Affairs;
195	195	(3) the Texas Water Development Board;
196	196	(4) the Texas Department of Transportation;
197	197	(5) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
198	198	(6) the Texas Workforce Commission;
199	199	(7) the Department of State Health Services;
200	200	(8) the Health and Human Services Commission;
201	201	(9) the General Land Office;
202	202	(10) the Texas Economic Development and Tourism
203	203	Office;
204	204	(11) the Office of State-Federal Relations;
205	205	(12) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
206	206	(13) the attorney general's office;
207	207	(14) the secretary of state's office;
208	208	(15) the Department of Public Safety; and
209	209	(16) the Railroad Commission of Texas.
210	210	(c) The interagency work group shall meet at least once each
211	211	year to discuss border issues and to provide information showing
212	212	the impact each agency has on border communities for use in
213	213	developing border policy. In even-numbered years, the work group
214	214	shall meet at the biennial Texas-Mexico Border Summit hosted by the
215	215	commission under Section 490B.004(d).
216	216	(d) In fulfilling its duties, the work group shall consider
217	217	the effect of policies instituted by the federal government
218	218	impacting the Texas-Mexico border region.
219	219	Sec. 490B.009. BORDER INSPECTION, TRADE, AND
220	220	TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The director shall
221	221	establish and appoint the members of the border inspection, trade,
222	222	and transportation advisory committee. The members must include
223	223	representatives of the Texas Department of Transportation, the
224	224	Department of Public Safety, and the Office of State-Federal
225	225	Relations and may include representatives of the United States
226	226	Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
227	227	Administration, and other representatives of state and federal
228	228	agencies involved in border crossing issues. Chapter 2110 does not
229	229	apply to the size, composition, or duration of the advisory
230	230	committee.
231	231	(b) The director shall work with the advisory committee and
232	232	the interagency work group to:
233	233	(1) identify problems involved with border truck
234	234	inspections and related trade and transportation infrastructure;
235	235	and
236	236	(2) develop recommendations for addressing those
237	237	problems.
238	238	(c) The director shall work with the advisory committee and
239	239	appropriate agencies of Texas, the United States, and Mexico to
240	240	develop initiatives to mitigate congestion at ports of entry at the
241	241	Texas-Mexico border by conducting in Mexico inspections of trucks
242	242	entering Texas. In developing the initiatives, the director shall
243	243	give consideration to similar initiatives proposed or implemented
244	244	at the border of the United States and Canada.
245	245	(d) The director shall report quarterly to the presiding
246	246	officer of each house of the legislature on the findings and
247	247	recommendations of the advisory committee.
248	248	Sec. 490B.010. TRADE AND COMMERCE PLAN. (a) The director
249	249	shall develop, in conjunction with representatives of chambers of
250	250	commerce, metropolitan planning organizations adjacent to or
251	251	located near the border between Texas and Mexico, and private
252	252	industry groups, and with the advice of the interagency work group,
253	253	a comprehensive trade and commerce plan for the Texas-Mexico border
254	254	region designed to:
255	255	(1) increase trade by attracting new business
256	256	ventures;
257	257	(2) support expansion of existing industries; and
258	258	(3) address workforce training needs.
259	259	(b) The plan must cover 5-year, 10-year, and 15-year
260	260	periods.
261	261	(c) The director shall work with industries and communities
262	262	on both sides of the border to develop international industry
263	263	cluster initiatives to capitalize on resources available in
264	264	communities adjacent to each other across the border.
265	265	(d) The director shall conduct annual conferences of
266	266	interested persons, working with chambers of commerce and
267	267	universities of this state in the Texas-Mexico border region, and
268	268	shall host those conferences at no cost to the director. The
269	269	purposes of the conferences are to:
270	270	(1) make the trade and commerce plan public;
271	271	(2) report on updated findings and progress in
272	272	implementing the plan; and
273	273	(3) develop new international industry cluster
274	274	initiatives.
275	275	SECTION 5. Sections 411.0097(b) and (d), Government Code,
276	276	as added by Chapter 693 (S.B. 293), Acts of the 79th Legislature,
277	277	Regular Session, 2005, are amended to read as follows:
278	278	(b) To assist the department in carrying out this section,
279	279	the department shall contact the border affairs director appointed
280	280	[commerce coordinator designated] under Section 490B.007 [772.010]
281	281	and the mayors of each municipality in this state in which a port of
282	282	entry for land traffic is located.
283	283	(d) The department, in conjunction with the border affairs
284	284	director [commerce coordinator], shall develop short-range and
285	285	long-range plans, including recommendations to increase bilateral
286	286	relations with Mexico and expedite trade by mitigating delays in
287	287	border crossing inspections for northbound truck traffic. In
288	288	developing the plans, the department and the border affairs
289	289	director [coordinator] shall consider information obtained from
290	290	any meetings under Subsection (a). The department shall update the
291	291	plan biennially.
292	292	SECTION 6. Section 201.114(b), Transportation Code, is
293	293	amended to read as follows:
294	294	(b) The border affairs director appointed under Section
295	295	490B.007, Government Code, [coordinator] shall serve on the Border
296	296	Trade Advisory Committee as presiding officer. The commission
297	297	shall appoint the other members of the committee, which to the
298	298	extent practicable must include:
299	299	(1) the presiding officers, or persons designated by
300	300	the presiding officers, of the policy boards of metropolitan
301	301	planning organizations wholly or partly in the department's Pharr,
302	302	Laredo, Odessa, or El Paso transportation district;
303	303	(2) the person serving, or a person designated by the
304	304	person serving, in the capacity of executive director of each
305	305	entity governing a port of entry in this state;
306	306	(3) a representative each from at least two institutes
307	307	or centers operated by a university in this state that conduct
308	308	continuing research on transportation or trade issues; and
309	309	(4) the port director of the Port of Brownsville or the
310	310	port director's designee.
311	311	SECTION 7. Sections 201.207(b) and (d), Transportation
312	312	Code, are amended to read as follows:
313	313	(b) To assist the department in carrying out this section,
314	314	the department shall contact the border affairs director appointed
315	315	[commerce coordinator designated] under Section 490B.007
316	316	[772.010], Government Code, and the mayors of each municipality in
317	317	this state in which a port of entry for land traffic is located.
318	318	(d) The department, in conjunction with the border affairs
319	319	director [commerce coordinator], shall develop short-range and
320	320	long-range plans, including recommendations to increase bilateral
321	321	relations with Mexico and expedite trade by mitigating delays in
322	322	border crossing inspections for northbound truck traffic. In
323	323	developing the plans, the department and the border affairs
324	324	director [coordinator] shall consider information obtained from
325	325	any meetings under Subsection (a). The department shall update the
326	326	plan biennially.
327	327	SECTION 8. The following provisions are repealed:
328	328	(1) Section 772.010, Government Code, as added by
329	329	Chapter 429 (S.B. 1136), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
330	330	Session, 1999;
331	331	(2) Section 772.010, Government Code, as added by
332	332	Chapter 1339 (H.B. 564), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
333	333	Session, 1999;
334	334	(3) Section 772.010, Government Code, as reenacted and
335	335	amended by Chapter 1215 (H.B. 925), Acts of the 79th Legislature,
336	336	Regular Session, 2005;
337	337	(4) Sections 772.0101, 772.0102, and 772.011,
338	338	Government Code; and
339	339	(5) Section 201.114(a), Transportation Code.
340	340	SECTION 9. (a) Effective September 1, 2015:
341	341	(1) the Texas-Mexico Strategic Investment Commission
342	342	is abolished and the powers and duties of that commission are
343	343	transferred to the Texas-Mexico Commission in accordance with
344	344	Chapter 490B, Government Code, as amended by this Act; and
345	345	(2) the border commerce coordinator becomes the border
346	346	affairs director in accordance with Section 490B.007, Government
347	347	Code, as added by this Act.
348	348	(b) As soon as possible after the effective date of this
349	349	Act, the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
350	350	representatives shall appoint members of the Texas-Mexico
351	351	Commission in accordance with Section 490B.003, Government Code, as
352	352	amended by this Act.
353	353	(c) All rules of the Texas-Mexico Strategic Investment
354	354	Commission are continued in effect as rules of the Texas-Mexico
355	355	Commission until superseded by a rule of the Texas-Mexico
356	356	Commission. An activity conducted by the Texas-Mexico Strategic
357	357	Investment Commission is considered to be an activity conducted by
358	358	the Texas-Mexico Commission.
359	359	(d) A reference in another law or an administrative rule to
360	360	the Texas-Mexico Strategic Investment Commission means the
361	361	Texas-Mexico Commission. A reference in another law or an
362	362	administrative rule to the border commerce coordinator means the
363	363	border affairs director.
364	364	(e) All money, records, property, and equipment in the
365	365	possession of the Texas-Mexico Strategic Investment Commission on
366	366	September 1, 2015, shall be transferred to the possession of the
367	367	Texas-Mexico Commission on September 1, 2015, or as soon as
368	368	possible after that date.
369	369	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.