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SENATOR SHAPLEIGH TO VICE CHAIR THE 15TH BORDER LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE
March 29, 2007

"El Paso-Juárez must push for secure, fast, smart movement of people and products to grow good jobs."

Written by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, www.shapleigh.org

AUSTIN – The challenges and opportunities of U.S. and Mexican border communities, including El Paso, will be addressed by border officials from both countries this Friday, March 30 at the 15th Border Legislative Conference (BLC) in Chihuahua, Mexico.  Senator Shapleigh, BLC Vice Chair, serves as an appointee of Lt. Governor David Dewhurst.

The BLC is a binational program that brings together legislators from the ten U.S. and Mexico border states to address challenges and economic opportunities common to both countries. The BLC serves as a primary mechanism for sustained dialogue and collaboration among U.S. and Mexican state officials.  The BLC also seeks to establish efficient and strategic collaborative efforts with multi level governments and nongovernmental organizations to the end that border communities can be strengthened and improved.  

At the upcoming legislative conference, officials will discuss immigration, drug addiction and intervention, border trade and infrastructure, and human trafficking.  In the area of trade, as chair of the BLC Economic Development Committee, Senator Shapleigh has worked to develop and implement the New Border Trade Proposal.  The proposal recommends the establishment of fast, safe, intelligent border bridges to speed movement of people and product.

The project entails the equipping of commercial vehicles and manufacturing facilities with Intelligent Software Agents and Information Technology Systems, and provides a renewed framework to enhance supply chain visibility by linking manufacturing and custom operations to enhance security, inoperability, and expedited clearance of commercial shipments at the border. 

In December 2005, the members of the BLC unanimously adopted the New Border Trade Proposal in El Paso.  Collaboration, strategic planning, and commitment among federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as the private sector and border communities, is essential to develop a border system that is safe, fast, and smart for the 21st Century.

Recent figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce show that Texas leads all states in cross-border commerce with $108.6 billion in goods from Mexico, which constitutes 68% of its total imported goods.   The "Twin Plant" or maquiladora industry contributes $105 billion of that total.   

"As immigration bills in Washington, D.C. define our region, El Paso-Juárez must push for secure, fast, smart movement of people and products to grow good jobs," said Senator Shapleigh.

In addition, a press conference on outcomes of the BLC is tentatively scheduled for 5:40 p.m. on March 30 at the Hotel Westin Soberano Chihuahua, Barranca de Cobre, No. 3211, Fracc. Barrancas, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico.     

To obtain a copy of meeting agenda and general information, please visit the BLC website at www.borderlegislators.org and click on “meeting calendar.”

What:      15th Border Legislative Conference

When:     Friday, March 30: 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Where:    Hotel Westin Soberano Chihuahua

               Barranca de Cobre, No. 3211, Fracc. Barranca

               Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico 31125

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BLC Membership

 

Chair: Diputado Juan Jose Gonzalez Espinoza, Chihuahua State Legislature

Vice Chair: Senator Eliot Shapleigh, Texas State Senate

 

United States

 

Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny

California State Senate

 

Senator Gilbert Cedillo

California State Senate

 

Assembly Member Lori Saldaña

California State Assembly

 

Assembly Member Hector

De La Torre

California State Assembly

 

Senator Amanda Aguirre

Arizona State Senate

 

Senator Tom O'Halleran

Arizona State Senate

 

Senator Timothy S. Bee

Arizona State Senate (alt)

 

Representative Doug Clark

Arizona House of Representatives

 

Representative Jonathan Paton

Arizona House of Representatives

 

Representative Warde V. Nichols

Arizona House of Representatives (alt)

 

Senator Mary Jane Garcia

New Mexico State Senate

 

Senator Leonard Lee Rawson

New Mexico State Senate

 

Representative Mary Helen Garcia

New Mexico House of Representatives

 

Representative Andy Nuñez

New Mexico House of Representatives

BLC Chair, 2006

 

Senator Jeff Wentworth

Texas State Senate

BLC Chair, 2003

 

Representative Ryan Guillen

Texas House of Representatives

 

Representative Tracy O. King

Texas House of Representatives

 

Representative Harvey Hilderbran

Texas House of Representatives (alt)

Mexico

 

Diputado Guillermo Aldrete Haas

Baja California State Legislature

 

Diputado Ricardo Magaña Mosqueda

Baja California State Legislature

 

Diputado Carlos Alberto

Montaño Quintana

Baja California State Legislature

 

Diputado Jaime Xicotencatl

Palafox Granados

Baja California State Legislature

 

Diputada Irma Villalobos Rascón

Sonora State Legislature

 

Diputado Carlos Amaya Rivera

Sonora State Legislature

 

Diputado Reynaldo Millan Cota

Sonora State Legislature

 

Diputado Ventura Felix Armenta

Sonora State Legislature

 

Diputado Luis Melecio

 

Chavarin Gaxiola

Sonora State Legislature (alt)

 

Diputada Leticia Amparano Gamez

Sonora State Legislature (alt)

 

Diputado Salvador Gomez Ramirez

Chihuahua State Legislature

 

Diputado Jaime Garcia Chavez

Chihuahua State Legislature

 

Diputado Ruben Aguilar Gil

Chihuahua State Legislature

 

Diputado Jose Luis Canales de la Vega

Chihuahua State Legislature (alt)

 

Diputado Alvaro Navarro Garate

Chihuahua State Legislature (alt)

 

Diputado Horacio del Bosque Davila

Coahuila State Legislature

 

Diputado Francisco Saracho Navarro

Coahuila State Legislature

 

Diputado Jose Francisco Cortes Lozano

Coahuila State Legislature

 

Diputado Alfredo Garza Castillo

Coahuila State Legislature

 

Diputado Leocadio Hernandez Torres

Coahuila State Legislature (alt)

 

Diputado Jose Antonio Jacinto Pacheco

Coahuila State Legislature (alt)

 

Diputado Alfredo Javier Rodriguez Davila

Nuevo Leon State Legislature

 

Diputado Francisco Javier Cantu Torres

Nuevo Leon State Legislature

 

Diputado Gilberto Treviño Aguirre

Nuevo Leon State Legislature

 

Diputado Gerardo Javier Garcia Maldonado

Nuevo Leon State Legislature

 

Diputado Ramon Garza Barrios

Tamaulipas State Legislature

 

Diputado Servando Lopez Moreno

Tamaulipas State Legislature

 

Diputada Maria Eugenia De Leon Perez

Tamaulipas State Legislature

 

Diputado Alejandro Antonio Saenz Garza

Tamaulipas State Legislature

 

Diputado Juan Jose Chapa Garza

Tamaulipas State Legislature (alt)

 

Diputado Carlos Manuel Montiel Saeb

Tamaulipas State Legislature (alt)

 

 

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