LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  April 17, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Kenneth Armbrister, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 379
          Committee on State Affairs                              By: Ratliff 
          Senate
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB379 ( Relating 
to the disposition and sale of certain surplus and salvage property 
by the state.) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB379-As Introduced
         
Implementing the bill's requirement that all surplus and salvage 
data processing equipment be sold at no less than 50 percent 
of its established fair market value would result in a gain 
to the state. The gain would depend on the established fair 
market value of the equipment.

         

         
 
The bill would amend Chapter 2175 of the Government Code to 
require that the General Services Commission (GSC) and the Comptroller 
to develop guidelines for determining the fair market value 
of data processing equipment.  The bill would prohibit the competitive 
bid or auction sale of surplus and salvage data processing equipment 
for less than 50 percent of the established fair market value. 
The provisions of the bill would apply to all state agencies, 
including eleemosynary institutions and agencies of higher education.

Current 
law requires all surplus and salvage property not transferred 
to other state agencies, political subdivisions, or assistance 
organizations to be offered for sale by competitive bid or auction. 
 Under current law, eleemosynary institutions and agencies of 
higher education are exempt from GSC procedures for the disposal 
of surplus property.

The GSC has indicated that they would 
require two additional FTEs to implement the bill's provisions. 
However, this analysis assumes that any increased workload could 
be absorbed within current agency resources. The comptroller 
estimates that the bill would not significantly increase their 
administrative costs.
          
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government 
is anticipated.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   720   University of Texas System Administration
                                         303   General Services Commission
                                         304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,JD ,RN