LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE 75th Regular Session April 9, 1997 TO: Honorable Kim Brimer, Chair IN RE: House Bill No. 2759 Committee on Business & Industry By: Walker House Austin, Texas FROM: John Keel, Director In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB2759 ( Relating to the delivery by certain electric cooperative corporations of money that is presumed to be abandoned.) this office has detemined the following: Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB2759-As Introduced No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. The bill would amend Chapter 74 of the Property Code to allow an electric cooperative incorporated in another state to divert unclaimed money due the State of Texas to a scholarship fund. The scholarship fund would be used to enable students from rural areas to attend college, technical school, or other post-secondary educational institutions. The Comptroller has indicated that the amount that the state General Revenue fund will retain each year from both in-state and out-of-state electric cooperatives' capital credits is under $100,000. The potential loss to the General Revenue Fund from implementation of this bill is therefore substantially less than $100,000. Current law allows for unclaimed capital credits, delivered to the state by electric cooperative corporations, to be used by the county in which the cooperative members reside for economic development programs defined under Section 381.004 of the Local Government Code. The bill would reduce the amount of unclaimed property, including capital credits, remitted to the state from electric cooperatives incorporated in another state and thus reduce the amount available to counties for economic development programs. The Comptroller is unable to identify the amount of unclaimed money contributed by out-of-state electric cooperatives to the pool that counties can draw from for economic development programs. The total pool, contributed by all electric cooperatives, that counties can use for economic development programs is estimated to be $700,000. Source: Agencies: 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK ,TH ,RN