Requesting the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to create a joint interim committee to study the development of a cruise industry on the Texas coast between Calhoun and Cameron Counties.

89(R) HCR 63 - Introduced version - Bill Text

89R12766 AMB-D

By: Hunter

H.C.R. No. 63

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The cruise operations in the home port of Galveston

have an enormous economic impact on Texas; the city hosted

approximately 1.5 million passenger and crew visits in 2024, and in

2023, the industry was responsible for generating more than 4,500

Texas jobs, $291 million in personal income, $733 million in local

business revenues, and $25 million in state and local taxes; and

WHEREAS, South of Galveston, between Calhoun and Cameron

Counties, from the tip of the Golden Crescent, along the Coastal

Bend, to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas is home to several

growing cities, robust tourism, and a wealth of natural resources;

the area, with more than 150 miles of Gulf shoreline, also harbors a

number of major deepwater ports, any of which might be a viable site

for a cruise line headquarters or a port of embarkation; and

WHEREAS, Florida and California, respectively, benefit the

most from the North American cruise industry, and each state

operates multiple cruise ports; and

WHEREAS, An additional Texas cruise ship port between Calhoun

and Cameron Counties could offer an attractive vacation option for

a significant portion of the state's residents and be an economic

boon to the state as a whole; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas

hereby request the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House

of Representatives to create a joint interim committee to conduct a

study regarding the development of a cruise industry on the Texas

coast between Calhoun and Cameron Counties, including its potential

economic impact and options for incentives to attract the cruise

industry to South Texas; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be

governed by such general rules and policies for joint interim

committees as the 89th Texas Legislature may adopt; and, be it

further

RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including

findings and recommendations, to the 90th Texas Legislature before

it convenes in January 2027.