Bill Text: CA AJR4 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: The United States-Mexico border.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 57-23)
Status: (Passed) 2013-05-01 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 24, Statutes of 2013. [AJR4 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AJR4-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AJR 4 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 24 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 1, 2013 ADOPTED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2013 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2013 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 7, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 27, 2013 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Hueso and V. Manuel Pérez (Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, and Yamada) (Coauthors: Senators Block, Cannella, Correa, and Lara) JANUARY 14, 2013 Relative to the United States-Mexico border. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AJR 4, Hueso. The United States-Mexico border. This measure would urge the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, to fund necessary improvements at the San Ysidro, Calexico, and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry. WHEREAS, The United States, Canada, and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 to foster trade among the countries, and improve global competitiveness; and WHEREAS, Trade between the United States and Mexico has more than quintupled since the implementation of NAFTA, totaling $500 billion in bilateral trade in 2011; and WHEREAS, Mexico continues to be California's number one export market with $25.8 billion in goods exported to Mexico in 2011, accounting for 16 percent of all California exports; and WHEREAS, Ninety-nine percent of trade between California and Mexico is carried by trucks; and WHEREAS, The SANDAG 2050 Comprehensive Freight Gateway Study projects that the nearly two million trucks that crossed the California-Mexico border in 2007 will increase to nearly five million trucks in 2050. In 2011, over $33.5 billion in goods moved between Mexico and the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and at the Tecate Port of Entry; and WHEREAS, The San Diego and Imperial Counties' border traffic congestion and delays cost the U.S. and Mexican economies an estimated $8.63 billion in gross output and more than 73,900 jobs in 2007; and WHEREAS, New land port of entry and improvement projects are under federal jurisdiction with significant influence over local communities; and WHEREAS, The San Ysidro-Puerta Mexico Land Port of Entry is the busiest port of entry between the United States and Mexico and is undergoing a major reconfiguration and expansion project; and WHEREAS, The Otay Mesa-Mesa de Otay Land Port of Entry has plans for the expansion and modernization of passenger and commercial inspection facilities; and WHEREAS, The Calexico West Port of Entry also has plans to renovate and expand the facility to process and expand its operation for pedestrians and automobiles; and WHEREAS, The collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies is essential for the development of border infrastructure projects and security; and WHEREAS, The General Accountability Office and the Department of Homeland Security estimate that $6 billion in border infrastructure is needed to fulfill their mission of preventing unlawful entry and smuggling while facilitating legitimate trade and tourism; and WHEREAS, The need for improved border capacity and efficiency comes at a time when traditional federal funding is scarce and increasingly difficult to obtain; and WHEREAS, Since February 2009, Congress and the Obama administration have not funded border infrastructure projects; and WHEREAS, The San Ysidro project has a stated funding gap of $285 million, the Calexico project needs $318 million to complete construction, and the Otay Mesa project requires $161 million for completion; and WHEREAS, Various agencies of the United States, including the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, should work with Congress to provide funding to support these border infrastructure investments; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, to fund necessary improvements at the San Ysidro, Calexico, and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.