LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                          Austin, Texas

                           FISCAL NOTE
                       74th Regular Session

                          March 26, 1995



 TO:     Honorable Ken Armbrister, Chair        IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 14
         Committee on State Affairs                     By: Bivins, et al.
         Senate
         Austin, Texas






FROM: John Keel, Director

In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on Senate Bill No.
14 (Relating to protecting private real property rights from
certain actions of this state or a political subdivision of this
state.; Relating to protecting private real property rights from
certain actions of this state or a political subdivision of this
state.) this office has determined the following:

The bill creates a new cause of action: a statutory taking that
goes beyond current law regarding the unconstitutional taking of
private property rights.  It also waives sovereign immunity as
provided in the bill and permits the State and other governmental
entities to be sued for compensation for actions taken by the
government entity that are the producing cause of an appreciable
reduction in the market value of the affected private real
property interest.

The bill would allow the owners of private property to recover
any and all damages, including loss of market value, reasonable
and necessary attorneys fees, expert witness fees and all
prejudgment interest.

The bill also imposes a duty on the Office of The Attorney
General to prepare guidelines to assist governmental entities in
identifying and evaluating those governmental actions  that
constitute a taking.  These guidelines must be completed  no
later than January 1, 1996, and must be published in the Texas
Register and revised annually.

Like the State, local governments would be required to go through
a formalized procedure for performing "taking" assessments and    




would be required to pay monetary compensation for reductions in 
the value of private real property interest.

In addition, the bill would require a Chief Appraiser to consider
the effect of governmental actions on the market value of private
real property when appraising  for ad valorem tax purposes.

The fiscal implication to the State or units of local government
cannot be determined due to insufficient information regarding
the number of actions or parcels of property which may be
affected.





Source:   Office of the Attorney General
          LBB Staff: JK, BR, DF