Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR37 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	S.C.R. No. 37
	1	+	By: Hinojosa, et al. S.C.R. No. 37
	2	+	(Martinez)
2	3
3	4
4	5		SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
5	6		WHEREAS, Seaport activities generate more than $4 trillion in
6	7		economic activity each year, representing more than a quarter of
7	8		United States gross domestic product and yielding more than $41
8	9		billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue; and
9	10		WHEREAS, To support this critical component of international
10	11		trade, the United States Congress established the Harbor
11	12		Maintenance Tax (HMT) on shippers in 1986 as a means of funding the
12	13		maintenance and improvement of vital harbor infrastructure; and
13	14		WHEREAS, HMT revenues deposited into the Harbor Maintenance
14	15		Trust Fund now total about $1.6 billion annually, but in recent
15	16		years, Congress has appropriated less than half of those funds for
16	17		the intended purpose, leading to a decline in dredging and
17	18		maintenance by the United States Army Corps of Engineers; the
18	19		consequence is an accumulation of sediment that leaves navigation
19	20		channels narrower and shallower, and when silted channels constrain
20	21		vessels from carrying full loads or force them to wait for high
21	22		tide, the costs of imports and exports rise, as does the risk of
22	23		vessel grounding and associated oil spills; the Corps of Engineers
23	24		has estimated that the full depth and width of our coastal ports is
24	25		available less than 35 percent of the time, costing the economy
25	26		billions of dollars annually; and
26	27		WHEREAS, Each year, the HMT provides an amount sufficient to
27	28		meet all of the nation's authorized harbor maintenance needs, but
28	29		as a result of lagging appropriations, the Harbor Maintenance Trust
29	30		Fund had a balance of more than $9 billion at the start of 2016; in
30	31		Texas alone, less than 25 percent of the HMT revenue collected in
31	32		the state has been appropriated for harbor maintenance; and
32	33		WHEREAS, Our nation's ports are vital to our economic
33	34		prosperity and global competitiveness, and these funds, which were
34	35		collected for the express purpose of the maintenance and
35	36		improvement of the ports, should be put to work; now, therefore, be
36	37		it
37	38		RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
38	39		hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to increase
39	40		appropriations from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to ensure
40	41		that the nation's ship channels are appropriately maintained and
41	42		safe; and, be it further
42	43		RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
43	44		copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
44	45		the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
45	46		Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
46	47		members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
47	48		this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
48	49		memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
49		-	______________________________ ______________________________
50		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
51		-	I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 37 was adopted by the Senate
52		-	on May 4, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
53		-	______________________________
54		-	Secretary of the Senate
55		-	I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 37 was adopted by the House
56		-	on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, two
57		-	present not voting.
58		-	______________________________
59		-	Chief Clerk of the House
60		-	Approved:
61		-	______________________________
62		-	Date
63		-	______________________________
64		-	Governor