85R11687 RMA-D
By: Hunter H.C.R. No. 78
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The cruise operations in the home port of Galveston
have an enormous economic impact on Texas; the city hosted some
640,000 passengers in 2014, which accounted for more than $1.2
billion in direct spending; in addition, the industry was
responsible for generating almost 20,000 Texas jobs and paying
nearly $1.1 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 85th 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 85th Legislature may adopt.