HOUSE MEMORIAL 96

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Roberto "Bobby" J. Gonzales and Cathrynn N. Brown

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR JOBS GROWTH PRESENTED BY THE NEW FEDERAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION LAW; REQUESTING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO STUDY ITS POTENTIAL AND PROVIDE A REPORT.

     WHEREAS, on December 3, 2015, the congress of the United States passed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, known as the FAST Act, a five-year authorization for federal highway spending; and

     WHEREAS, the FAST Act has a new requirement for shipping truckers that limits them to eleven hours of continuous driving time, referred to in the Fast Act as "service time", after which they are required to take a ten-hour break; and

     WHEREAS, three of the nation's main truck shipment routes cross New Mexico: interstate highway 10, interstate highway 25 and interstate highway 40; and

     WHEREAS, shipping companies are likely to adjust their schedules to both maximize the distance covered during the allowed service time and to maximize the services available to their drivers during their required ten hours of downtime; and

     WHEREAS, the states that first develop multi-service locations for truckers that take advantage of the eleven-hour limit are likely to gain an economic growth and jobs windfall and a competitive advantage over their neighboring states;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the economic development department and the department of transportation be requested to conduct a study and develop a report analyzing:

          A. the scope of services, such as food services, motel accommodations, entertainment services and fuel and vehicle repair stations, that would be needed to make a location a preferred trucking rest center for shipping companies;

          B. the shipping patterns along the interstate highways crossing New Mexico and the zones where truck drivers will most frequently reach their eleven-hour service limit;

          C. the locations within the eleven-hour frequency zones that have the best existing infrastructure to support trucking rest centers; and

          D. the potential for the state and local governments to enter into public-private partnerships with service companies to develop these locations as trucking rest centers; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the economic development department and the department of transportation consult with the New Mexico trucking association and the commercial logistics experts at New Mexico state university in the development of the report; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the economic development department and the department of transportation present the report to the relevant legislative interim committee prior to November 1, 2016; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of economic development, the secretary of transportation, the president of New Mexico state university and the managing director of the New Mexico trucking association.

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