LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  April 7, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable J.E. "Buster" Brown, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 1339
          Committee on Natural Resources                              By: Patterson, Jerry
          Senate
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB1339 ( Relating 
to coastal erosion; including the power of eminent domain.) 
this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB1339-As Introduced
         

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal 
basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions 
of the bill. 

Contingent upon legislative appropriation for 
coastal erosion planning and response, the bill would authorize 
the General Land Office (GLO) to carry out activities set out 
in the bill.  The bill would repeal the current statutes on 
coastal erosion and create a new subchapter, the Coastal Erosion 
Planning and Response Act.  

This bill would create the Coastal 
Erosion Response Fund in the State Treasury to receive all money 
appropriated for the purposes of this bill and to receive money 
from other sources intended for erosion response activity.  
Use of the fund would be limited to activities relating to the 
cause and control of shoreline erosion.  In addition, grants 
could be issued to local governments for erosion response activities. 
 

The promulgation of rules for erosion response within the 
coastal zone would be authorized.  GLO would be required to 
submit a biennial report to the Legislature on coastal erosion 
planning and response activities.

Landowner consent would 
be needed before erosion response activities could be undertaken 
on private property or on Permanent School Fund (PSF) land. 
 The state would be granted immunity from actions rising from 
the conduct of erosion response activities; the bill would, 
however, provide for judicial review of rights affected by certain 
erosion response activities.  

The bill would require proof 
of claim when a person claims title to PSF land as a result 
of certain changes within the coastal zone.  Corrections could 
also be made to local tax records in instances when property 
becomes submerged due to erosion and title to land is vested 
from a landowner to the Permanent School Fund. 

The bill 
would become effective immediately.  
         
 
          
Contingent upon appropriation to the GLO for erosion response 
activities, the bill would allow local governmental entities 
to apply for and receive grant funding to conduct erosion response 
activities.  The bill would allow a local government to use 
grant funding as a match in seeking other funding.  The GLO, 
may however, establish cost share requirements for any proposed 
project or grant.

Local governments could lose certain property 
from their tax rolls to the PSF if the property becomes submerged 
due to erosion.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
                                         305   General Land Office and Veterans' Land Board
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,BB ,NT