Bill Text: TX HB3378 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the border commerce coordinator.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-06 - Left pending in committee [HB3378 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB3378-Introduced.html

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84R11578 GRM-D
By: Lucio III H.B. No. 3378

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the border commerce coordinator.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 772.010, Government Code, as added by
Chapter 1339 (H.B. 564), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 772.010. BORDER COMMERCE COORDINATOR. (a) The
governor shall designate a border commerce coordinator in the
governor's office or the office of the secretary of state as
determined by the governor. The coordinator shall:
(1) examine trade issues between the United States,
Mexico, and Canada;
(2) act as an ombudsman for government agencies within
the Texas and Mexico border region to help reduce regulations by
improving communication and cooperation between federal, state,
and local governments;
(3) work with federal officials to resolve
transportation issues involving infrastructure, including roads
and bridges, to allow for the efficient movement of goods and people
across the border between Texas and Mexico;
(4) work with federal officials to create a unified
federal agency process to streamline border crossing needs;
(5) work to increase funding for the North American
Development Bank to assist in the financing of water and wastewater
facilities; [and]
(6) explore the sale of excess electric power from
Texas to Mexico;
(7) study the flow of commerce at ports of entry
between this state and Mexico, including the movement of commercial
vehicles across the border, and establish a plan to aid that
commerce and improve the movement of those vehicles;
(8) work to identify problems associated with border
truck inspections and related trade and transportation
infrastructure and develop recommendations for addressing those
problems;
(9) work with the appropriate state and federal
agencies to develop initiatives to mitigate congestion at ports of
entry; and
(10) develop recommendations designed to:
(A) increase trade by attracting new business
ventures;
(B) support expansion of existing and new
industries; and
(C) address workforce training needs.
(b) The governor shall appoint a border commerce
coordinator to serve at the will of the governor in the governor's
office or in the office of the secretary of state and may select the
secretary of state as the coordinator.
(c) The coordinator shall work with the interagency work
group established under Section 772.011, with local governments,
metropolitan planning organizations, and other appropriate
community organizations adjacent to the border of this state with
the United Mexican States, and with comparable entities in Mexican
states adjacent to that border to address the unique planning and
capacity needs of those areas. The coordinator shall assist those
governments, organizations, and entities to identify and develop
initiatives to address those needs. Before January 1 of each year,
the coordinator shall submit to the presiding officer of each house
of the legislature a report of the coordinator's activities under
this subsection during the preceding year.
(d) The coordinator shall:
(1) work with private industry and appropriate
entities of Texas and the United States to require that low-sulfur
fuel be sold along highways in Texas carrying increased traffic
related to activities under the North American Free Trade
Agreement; and
(2) work with representatives of the government of the
United Mexican States and the governments of Mexican states
bordering Texas to increase the use of low-sulfur fuel.
(e) The coordinator shall appoint a border mayor task force,
to be named the Texas Good Neighbor Committee, consisting of the
mayors from every municipality located in this state along the
border between Texas and the United Mexican States. The task force
shall:
(1) advise the coordinator on key trade, security, and
transportation-related issues important to the municipalities
appointed to the task force;
(2) hold quarterly meetings with mayors from Mexico
to:
(A) increase:
(i) cooperation;
(ii) communication; and
(iii) the flow of information;
(B) identify problems; and
(C) recommend solutions;
(3) seek assistance and input from private sector
stakeholders involved in commerce to identify issues to address;
and
(4) provide recommendations to assist the coordinator
in carrying out the coordinator's statutory duties.
SECTION 2. (a) Section 772.010, Government Code, as added
by Chapter 429 (S.B. 1136), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is repealed.
(b) Section 3(a), Chapter 1215 (H.B. 925), Acts of the 79th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, which reenacted and amended
Section 772.010, Government Code, as added by Chapters 429 (S.B.
1136) and 1339 (H.B. 564), Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.