LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE 75th Regular Session May 22, 1997 TO: Honorable Irma Rangel, Chair IN RE: Senate Bill No. 576, Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted Committee on Higher Education By: Sibley/et al. House Austin, Texas FROM: John Keel, Director In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB576 ( Relating to the establishment of the Texas New Horizons Scholarship Trust Fund.) this office has detemined the following: Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB576-Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. The bill would amend Subchapter D, Chapter 54 of the Education Code to establish the Texas New Horizons Scholarship Fund and would require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to issue Texas New Horizons Scholarships to qualified high school graduates based on certain educational and economic criteria. The bill would require institutions to match any state funds with the institutions local funds. The bill would create a new special fund, the New Horizons Scholarship Trust Fund, outside the treasury but in trust of the Comptroller. Money in the fund could be spent without appropriation but only to fund the scholarship program. Interest and income to the fund would be deposited in the fund. The Coordinating Board would be authorized to accept gifts and grants from any public or private sources. The bill would authorize the Coordinating Board to spend up to 2.5 percent of the deposits into the fund for administrative costs. This bill would require that any amount of money delivered to the Comptroller by all local telephone exchange companies in excess of $2 million in any state fiscal year would be deposited to the Texas New Horizons Scholarship Trust Fund. Money would no longer be subject to voluntary delivery to a rural scholarship fund. The local telephone exchange companies would file with the Comptroller verification of the amount of money delivered. The bill would repeal Section 74.3012 of the Property Code, relating to delivery of money to urban scholarship funds. Under current law, deposits to rural/urban scholarship funds are capped at $800,000 per year. In 1996, telephone exchange companies deposited $800,000 in these funds and the balance, approximately $2 million, to the credit of the General Revenue Fund 0001. Based on the 1996 experience, this bill would have no fiscal impact on the General Revenue Fund. Similar annual fiscal implications would continue as long as the provisions of the bill are in effect. No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. Source: Agencies: 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK ,LP ,LD