Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SR201 Compare Versions

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1	1	SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 201
2	2	WHEREAS, Many notable citizens of Lubbock are visiting
3	3	Austin on February 22, 2017, to pay tribute to their city's rich
4	4	heritage and to celebrate Lubbock Day at the State Capitol; and
5	5	WHEREAS, A thriving region of the state, the Lubbock area
6	6	is one of the oldest inhabited places in Texas; archeologists
7	7	have discovered evidence of some 12,000 years of continuous
8	8	habitation at Lubbock Lake Landmark, a national historic and
9	9	state archeological preserve; and
10	10	WHEREAS, The City of Lubbock was incorporated on March 16,
11	11	1909; the railroads stimulated the city's growth as a trade
12	12	center, but residents also wanted the benefits of an institution
13	13	of higher learning; when legislation creating Texas Technological
14	14	College was finally passed in 1923, the site selection committee,
15	15	impressed by the enthusiasm and hospitality of Lubbock's citizens,
16	16	chose the City of Lubbock for the college's location; and
17	17	WHEREAS, Today, Lubbock is a city of close to 250,000
18	18	people and is home to the Texas Tech University System and its
19	19	flagship institution, Texas Tech University, a school well
20	20	deserving of its recently acquired tier-one status; and
21	21	WHEREAS, The Texas Tech Health Sciences Center attracts
22	22	nearly 5,000 students from around the world and is currently
23	23	ranked as the number-one health university in the nation by the
24	24	SR Education Group, ranking higher than even programs at other
25	25	notable institutions, such as Harvard University, Stanford
26	26	University, and Yale University; and
27	27	WHEREAS, Lubbock's three universities and its public
28	28	community college annually draw more than 53,000 students to the
29	29	area and refresh the local economy with around 10,000 new graduates
30	30	each year, thus creating a community where 30 percent of
31	31	residents over the age of 25 hold a college degree or higher; and
32	32	WHEREAS, Lubbock's regional labor force numbers more than
33	33	207,000, and the cost of doing business in the area continues to
34	34	rank as one of the lowest in the nation; the region has one of the
35	35	lowest costs for electric and natural gas utilities, affordable
36	36	land, a low cost of living, and low property taxes; and
37	37	WHEREAS, Lubbock is consistently recognized by national
38	38	organizations for its business-friendly atmosphere; it has been
39	39	named the number-one city for women professionals, has been ranked
40	40	in the top 20 for young entrepreneurs to start a business, and has
41	41	been named number seven in the Forbes list of top "Opportunity
42	42	Cities" based on the city's low cost-of-living, cultural offerings,
43	43	and the strength of the business community; and
44	44	WHEREAS, Lubbock enjoys a diverse economy that draws its
45	45	strength from agribusiness, manufacturing, and commerce, as well
46	46	as from educational and medical facilities, and the city boasts
47	47	the largest medical infrastructure between Dallas and Phoenix;
48	48	with the growth of cotton culture on the High Plains, Lubbock has
49	49	become one of the world's primary centers for the processing of
50	50	cottonseed and hybrid grain sorghum seed; and
51	51	WHEREAS, The Lubbock economy is deeply rooted in cotton
52	52	farming and remains home of the world's largest contiguous cotton
53	53	fields; it is now the home of several major award-winning wineries
54	54	and vineyards that produce more than 70 percent of all the state's
55	55	wine grapes; and
56	56	WHEREAS, Lubbock also offers a wealth of cultural and
57	57	recreational venues, including the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra,
58	58	the Lubbock Civic Ballet, the Silent Wings Museum, and the Museum
59	59	and Planetarium of Texas Tech University; there are plans for a
60	60	new state-of-the-art performing arts center well underway, and
61	61	it will be named after local legend and rock-and-roll hall-of-famer
62	62	Buddy Holly; and
63	63	WHEREAS, Lubbock's meticulously planned infrastructure by
64	64	city leaders has created a low-traffic community with more
65	65	neighborhood parks per capita than any other city in Texas; and
66	66	WHEREAS, Lubbock is nicknamed the "Hub City" because it is
67	67	surrounded by five major highways, and the nickname will remain
68	68	intact with the eventual expansion of Interstate 27, which will
69	69	assist in relieving the traffic congestion of other major Texas
70	70	highways; and
71	71	WHEREAS, Those wanting a glimpse of the frontier can find
72	72	it in the restored structures at the Ranching Heritage Center, a
73	73	15-acre site tracing the evolution of ranch architecture and the
74	74	history of the cattle industry; the region's history is also
75	75	celebrated at the Bayer Museum of Agriculture; and
76	76	WHEREAS, The talented musicians who have come from the
77	77	Lubbock area include Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, the Maines family,
78	78	Virgil Johnson and the Velvets, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker,
79	79	Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Pat Green, and Butch Hancock; their
80	80	rich and diverse contributions have earned Lubbock recognition
81	81	as "The Music Crossroads of Texas"; and
82	82	WHEREAS, Lubbock's thriving business community is represented
83	83	by the largest business federation on the Texas South Plains, the
84	84	Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, which grows and guards the prosperity
85	85	of the Lubbock area; and
86	86	WHEREAS, Early major achievements propelled by the chamber
87	87	during more than a century of service include recruiting farmers
88	88	from out of state to populate and make productive the fertile
89	89	soils of the Llano Estacado, working to bring the railroad to
90	90	Lubbock, establishing the South Plains Fair, and drafting and
91	91	delivering the application to the Texas Capitol that would result
92	92	in establishing Texas Technological College, which today thrives
93	93	as the heart of the Texas Tech University System; and
94	94	WHEREAS, The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce was instrumental
95	95	in establishing Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport and
96	96	Reese Air Force Base and is noted for its revolutionary market-driven
97	97	Chamber Employer Health Plan that is a model nationwide; and
98	98	WHEREAS, The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce is the nation's
99	99	first and only chamber to be twice 5-Star Accredited and twice named
100	100	Chamber of the Year; and
101	101	WHEREAS, In addition, the chamber created Imagine Lubbock
102	102	Together, a private-public partnership formed to revitalize the
103	103	Lubbock community and once again bring a culturally sound, vibrant
104	104	downtown to Lubbock; and
105	105	WHEREAS, Among those in the visiting delegation at the
106	106	Capitol today are the proud members of the Lubbock Chamber of
107	107	Commerce's 42nd Leadership Lubbock Class, who represent the
108	108	future business and community leaders of Lubbock; and
109	109	WHEREAS, The citizens of Lubbock have truly kept faith with
110	110	the founders of their West Texas community; renowned for their
111	111	friendliness and warmth, as well as for their hardiness and
112	112	determination, they have helped to build a vital urban center
113	113	that serves not only a large part of West Texas but also eastern
114	114	New Mexico; now, therefore, be it
115	115	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th
116	116	Legislature, hereby recognize February 22, 2017, as Lubbock Day
117	117	at the State Capitol and extend to the members of the visiting
118	118	delegation and all their fellow citizens sincere appreciation
119	119	for the bright luster they add to the Lone Star State.
120	120	Perry
121	121	________________________________
122	122	President of the Senate
123	123	I hereby certify that the
124	124	above Resolution was adopted by
125	125	the Senate on February 22, 2017.
126	126	________________________________
127	127	Secretary of the Senate
128	128	________________________________
129	129	Member, Texas Senate