AUSTIN

The Texas Senate on passed a bill by Sen. Carlos Uresti that would provide some much-needed help for county roads that are being severely damaged by oil and gas production activity.   SB 1747, sent to the House on a vote of 30-1, would create County Energy Transportation Reinvestment Zones and establish criteria for counties to access funds for road maintenance and repair.   "Advancements in drilling technology have generated an unprecedented resurgence in oil and gas production, but it has come with a price," Uresti said. "Simply put, county roads weren't designed to handle the oil boom that Texas is enjoying."   The Texas Department of Transportation estimates that a county road used for drilling just one oil and gas well will endure the equivalent of 8 million passenger vehicles. In the Eagle Ford Shale region alone, 5,400 wells have been permitted by the Texas Railroad Commission. And according to a recent study by the University of Texas at San Antonio, a total of 24,000 wells can be expected in the region by 2022.   "It is clear that both short-term and long-term solutions are needed for this problem," Uresti said. "If we allow these roads to continue to deteriorate, we could kill the goose that lays the golden egg. The oil boom cannot be sustained if we don't give counties a way to maintain these roads."   Under current law, counties are primarily responsible for the repair and maintenance of county roads. Uresti said energy-producing counties deserve financial help for their roads because the entire state is benefiting from the upsurge in oil and gas production in the Eagle Ford Shale region and the Permian Basin.   SB 1747 would allow counties to create County Energy Transportation Reinvestment Zones — designated areas where county roads have been damaged by oil and gas production activity. A county could apply for road repair funds based on its number of well completions, the number of weight tolerance permits, and the amount of severance taxes collected. A county would also have to provide its county roads report for the past two years and contribute a match of up to 10 percent for each repair or maintenance project.   The bill was the result of numerous meetings with county officials, the oil and gas industry, state transportation officials, and other stakeholders.

Sen. Uresti represents Senate District 19, which covers more than 35,000 square miles and contains all or part of 17 counties, two international ports of entry, ten state parks, 51 school districts, almost 9,000 miles of highways and county roads, and more than 29,000 producing oil and gas wells. The district is larger than 11 states and 124 Nations, and contains almost 400 miles of the Texas-Mexico border.

KEN THOMAS, Associated Press

DALLAS (AP)

They have dominated American politics for the past three decades: the Bush and Clinton families, taking turns in a string of positions of power and influence. The dedication of George W. Bush's presidential library on Thursday shines a spotlight on two of the nation's most prominent political dynasties — and the prospect of another White House campaign, in 2016, featuring the families. President Barack Obama, who broke a 20-year string of either a Bush or Clinton in the Oval Office, will join four ex-presidents at the red-brick library on the campus of Southern Methodist University. Obama has his own back story with the families — he waged a long primary race against Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008, campaigned vigorously against Bush's policies and then turned to the former senator and first lady to run the State Department. When Obama needed a re-election boost last year, former President Bill Clinton was there to help. The White House binds the two families — from former President George H.W. Bush, who presided over the end of the Cold War but watched his popularity fade, to Bill Clinton, whose "I feel your pain" message created a connection with Americans that survived impeachment, to the younger Bush, whose bullhorn speech amid the wreckage of the 9/11 attacks in New York was followed by draining wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that left him unpopular in his second term. "The presidents' club is small," said Mary Matalin, a longtime George W. Bush adviser. "Only presidents who have sat behind that desk in the Oval Office know the weight of it. There's just a bond there that nobody else can understand except for a handful of people who have done it." The families first squared off in 1992, when George H.W. Bush ran for re-election and faced Bill Clinton and independent H. Ross Perot in a riveting campaign that took place as Bush's sky-high approval dwindled following the first Iraq war. Clinton repeatedly questioned Bush's handling of the economy while the incumbent challenged the fitness for office of Clinton and running mate Al Gore, punctuated by Bush's claim that his English springer spaniel, Millie, knew more about foreign policy "than these two Bozos." George W. Bush served as an aide to his father's re-election campaign, giving him a close-up view of his father's defeat — and plenty of reasons to dislike the opponent. But the families eventually formed a connection that was helped by a common understanding of the burdens of the office. "They both have a real commitment to public service and are willing to take the slings and arrows that go with it," said Paul Begala, a former aide to Bill Clinton. When the Clintons arrived at the White House in January 1993, aides to both families said the Bush family was gracious to the new president and his family. The elder Bush avoided criticizing his successor and after Clinton's presidency, the two joined forces to raise money for victims of the devastating tsunami in Asia in 2005 and Hurricane Katrina in 2006. Aides describe a friendship between the two ex-presidents that almost resembles a father-son relationship. Bill Clinton has visited the ailing ex-president at his homes in Houston and Kennebunkport, Maine, and they keep in touch. Former first lady Barbara Bush joked in a 2012 interview with Parade Magazine that her sons refer to Clinton as their "brother by another mother." Bush 41, as he is known, told Clinton in a 2006 letter that presidential politics might strain their friendship, "but it is my view that it will survive. In any event, I have genuinely enjoyed working with you. Don't kill yourself by travel or endless rope lines." That friendship helped connect Clinton and George W. Bush, who campaigned for president in 2000 on restoring "honor and dignity" to the White House following Clinton's impeachment over a sex scandal. After Haiti's devastating earthquake in 2010, Obama tapped Clinton and the younger Bush to lead a relief effort. Joshua Bolten, a former chief of staff to George W. Bush and a board member of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, recalled that on their first trip to Haiti, the presidents wore tan baseball caps emblazoned with the number 85 — the combination of the 42nd and 43rd presidents. He said the relationship between Clinton and the elder Bush "helped open the door to a good 42 and 43 relationship." Both families know what it's like to watch a family member face the scrutiny of a national campaign. Bolten said that during the 2008 race, Clinton and George W. Bush would talk by phone about the campaign as Hillary Clinton sought the White House — a time when Bush's approval ratings sank and Republicans avoided him. "Both political junkies. One of them very decidedly on the sidelines, the other one engaged but not the principal," Bolten said. "And having shared the experience of having a loved one running for president or being involved in the arena and being attacked, from their perspective unfairly; I think that was something of a shared experience," Bolten said. "They could definitely relate." Presidential historian Michael Beschloss said the relationship between the families reflected the "tendency of most ex-presidents to form at least modest friendships because they found that they shared an almost unique experience, as well as the welfare of the country." The two families could be thrust into the spotlight once again if Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush runs for president in three years. During the 2008 campaign, Bill Clinton served as his wife's top surrogate, vouching for her abilities. In recent days, George W. Bush has encouraged his younger brother to seek the White House, saying in an interview with C-SPAN, "My first advice is: Run." Playing on the idea of his brother and Hillary Clinton appearing at the library opening, the former president told ABC News: "It'll be a fantastic photo here. It would certainly eclipse the museum and the center." But first lady Barbara Bush appeared to disagree. Asked in an interview Thursday on NBC's "Today" show how she felt about Jeb Bush running for president, Mrs. Bush said, "We've had enough Bushes." Recent polling has found an improving assessment of George W. Bush's presidency, a measurement which could play a factor in how Jeb Bush would be viewed in future Republican primaries. A poll released in March of registered Republicans by Quinnipiac University found Jeb Bush trailing GOP opponents such as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and Kentucky Sen. Ron Paul. Hillary Clinton remains popular, with a Gallup poll released earlier this month showing that 64 percent had a favorable opinion of her. The presidential trail follows both of them three years before the next election. Clinton supporters gathered outside her private speech in nearby Irving, Texas, on Wednesday night while Jeb Bush received encouragement to run for president during a speech at a Dallas civic group. Looking to the future, Jeb Bush pointed to the nascent campaign in Texas of his 37-year-old son, George P. Bush. "To be honest, I'm focused on the land commissioner race in 2014," Bush said with a smile. Presidential politics can wait.