LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  April 2, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Kim Brimer, Chair            IN RE:  House Bill No. 3203
          Committee on Business & Industry                              By: Counts
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB3203 ( Relating 
to the disposition of unclaimed funds by nonprofit cooperative 
corporations.) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB3203-As Introduced
         
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
Similar annual fiscal implications The bill would amend the 
Property Code to authorize nonprofit cooperative corporations 
to deliver their unclaimed money to a scholarship fund for rural 
students or to an economic development fund for rural communities, 
instead of delivering the money to the Comptroller for deposit 
into the General Revenue Fund.  The bill would limit to $1 million 
the total amount of unclaimed money that could be transferred 
by all nonprofit cooperative corporations during the state fiscal 
year.  No more than 20 percent of each nonprofit cooperative 
corporation's unclaimed funds could be used for economic development.

The 
Comptroller has determined that the amount of unclaimed property 
that would be transferred to rural scholarship and economic 
development funds, and therefore not deposited into the General 
Revenue Fund, would be insignificant.
          
Under current law, a county may request that the state transfer 
to it an amount equal to any unclaimed capital credits from 
the electric cooperative(s) which serves the county,  less anticipated 
claims, to be used for various county economic development programs. 
 The bill would reduce the amount of unclaimed property, including 
capital credits, supplied to the state from electric cooperatives 
-- and thus reduce the amount of unclaimed property that can 
be used for economic development programs defined under Section 
381.004 of the Local Government Code.  The amount would vary 
depending on the value of unclaimed capital credits supplied 
by electric cooperatives, but could not exceed $1 million.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,TH ,RN