LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
April 12, 1999
TO: Honorable Warren Chisum, Chair, House Committee on
Environmental Regulation
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: HB 1910 by Chisum (relating to the disposal or assured
isolation of low-level radioactive waste), Committee
Report 1st House, Substituted
**************************************************************************
* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* HB1910, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: positive impact *
* of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2001. *
* *
* The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal *
* basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of *
* the bill. *
**************************************************************************
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Net Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2000 $0 *
* 2001 0 *
* 2002 0 *
* 2003 0 *
* 2004 0 *
****************************************************
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
***************************************************************************
*Fiscal Probable Probable Probable Change in *
* Year Savings/(Cost) Savings/(Cost) Revenue Number of State *
* from Waste from Waste Gain/(Loss) Employees from *
* Account/ Account/ from Waste FY 1999 *
* GR-Dedicated GR-Dedicated Account/ *
* 0088 0088 GR-Dedicated *
* 0088 *
* 2000 $(1,442,157) $1,804,061 $(1,277,579) (5.0) *
* 2001 (2,844,457) 401,761 (2,792,633) (5.0) *
* 2002 (2,737,836) 508,382 (2,893,852) (5.0) *
* 2003 (1,909,215) 1,337,003 3,034,026 (5.0) *
* 2004 (21,777,017) 0 27,100,137 (5.0) *
***************************************************************************
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend Chapter 402 of the Health and Safety Code to allow
the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority (TLLRWDA) to
develop either a disposal site or an assured isolation site for the
management of low-level waste in Texas.
The Texas Department of Health (TDH) would have sole responsibility to
issue a license to operate an assured isolation site. The Texas Natural
Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) would have sole responsibility
to issue a license to operate a disposal site. The license for a
disposal or assured isolation site would be issued in the name of the
TLLRWDA and could not be transferred to a private entity.
The bill would repeal Sections 402.059(d) and 402.0921 of the Health and
Safety Code, relating to locating a waste disposal site in Hudspeth
County. The bill would remove language throughout Section 402 of the
Health and Safety Code relating to locating a waste disposal site in
Hudspeth County. The bill also requires that the waste disposal or
assured isolation site may not be located in a county that is adjacent to
an international boundary.
The bill would require that planning and implementation fees assessed by
the TLLRWDA could not be assessed until after the fiscal year in which
the balance in General Revenue Dedicated Account 0088-Low-Level Waste
(GR-Account 088) fell below $4 million or at any time the account balance
was $9 million or more. Fees also could not be assessed in an amount
that exceeded $3 million in any fiscal biennium. The bill also requires
that a surcharge of 10 percent of the planning and implementation fee
established for the biennium be assessed and used to fund local public
projects under Subchapter I.
On the termination of the imposition of planning and implementation fees
on the date a waste management facility became operational, the balance
of GR-Account 0088 attributable to planning and implementation fees would
be transferred to a separate account within GR-Account 0088 and credited
pro rata to waste generators who had paid the fees. The credits could
be used against waste acceptance fees that waste generators would be
required to pay once a waste management facility became operational.
The bill would require the Comptroller to retain in GR-Account 0088 the
first $25 million received from payments by party states, under the terms
of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact. These funds
would be appropriated only up to cost of the construction of a waste
management facility. Subsequent payments under the terms of the compact
would be transferred to the new Low-Level Radioactive Waste Perpetual
Care Fund.
The bill would require that the new Low-Level Radioactive Waste Perpetual
Care Fund (fund) be created as a special account in the State Treasury
outside the General Revenue Fund 0001. The fund, which would consist of
the second payment due from party states under the compact and
transferred to the fund by the Comptroller, deposits of waste acceptance
fees imposed by the authority in amounts to meet TNRCC or TDH
requirements, and interest earned on money in the fund, is not included
in this fiscal note estimate.
The bill would require that money in the fund only could be used for the
long-term care and maintenance of a state-owned waste management
facility. Interest on money in the fund could be used for the normal
operating expenses of the TLLRWDA as appropriated by the Legislature.
The principal in the fund could not be used for the normal operating
expenses of the TLLRWDA, the TNRCC, or the TDH.
Methodology
Based on information from the TLLRWDA, the licensing process for an
assured isolation site could be completed within three years, and a site
could be constructed and operational before the end of fiscal 2004 (a
license for a disposal site would be handled by the TNRCC and could not
be approved for at least six years). This analysis assumes that
completion of an assured isolation site would complete or meet Texas'
obligation under the terms of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste
Disposal Compact. This would require each of the other party states
(Maine and Vermont) to make their initial contribution of $12,500,000 in
fiscal year 2004.
According to the Comptroller's 2000-01 Biennial Revenue Estimate, the
estimated ending balance for GR-Account 0088 for fiscal 1999 is
$9,162,000. Subtracting the annual estimates for planning and
implementation fees from that ending balance would bring the balance
below $4 million at the end of fiscal year 2002. The amount of these
fees would represent a loss to GR-Account 0088 during the period they
could not be collected. According to the TLLRWDA, planning and
implementation fees would be billed on or about September 1, 2002 for
fiscal year 2002.
Cost Assumptions:
- $273,784 for payment in FY 2003 and $190,922 for payment in FY
2004 to the host county (no payments would be due or made in FY 2000,
2001 and 2002);
- $100,000 per year for payments to the Compact Commission from FY
2000-2004;
- $1,257,465 for payments to the TDH for assured isolation facility
license review from FY 2002-2004;
- $20,000 for costs associated to move/store the agency field office
in FY 2000;
- $400,000 for purchase of the land in FY 2002;
- $100,000 for license preparation costs in FY 2001;
- $20,000,000 (approximate estimate) for isolation site construction
in FY 2004; and
- Agency operating costs of an average $1.28 million per year (FY
2000-2004).
Savings generated by the bill to GR-Account 0088 reflect the savings from
TLLRWDA's operating costs in fiscal year 1999.
Local Government Impact
The bill would require that the TLLRWDA give preference to a county that
holds a non-binding referendum for the purpose of determining if the
eligible voters in a prospective host county would favor the
establishment of a low-level radioactive waste management facility.
According to TLLRWDA estimates, a prospective host county's cost for a
conducting a referendum could be in the amount of $25,000.
The bill would provide that the host county receive the statutory
payments based upon 10 percent of collected planning and implementation
fees and 10 percent of the compact party states' contributions.
Source Agencies: 501 Department of Health, 582 Natural Resource
Conservation Commission, 526 Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Disposal Authority, 304 Comptroller of
Public Accounts
LBB Staff: JK, DE, TT