LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
March 24, 1999
TO: Honorable Frank Madla, Chair, Senate Committee on
Intergovernmental Relations
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: SB 769 by Madla (Relating to the creation of an advanced
transportation district and authorizing the imposition of
a local sales and use tax for advanced transportation.),
Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
**************************************************************************
* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* SB769, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: positive impact *
* of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2001. *
* *
* No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. *
**************************************************************************
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 Probable *
* Year Savings/(Cost) Revenue Revenue Revenue *
* to VIA Gain/(Loss) to Gain/(Loss) Gain/(Loss) to *
* Metropolitan VIA from Balcones Comal County *
* Transit Metropolitan Heights Crime *
* Transit Control District *
* 2000 $(515,265) $12,433,779 $(273,244) $(16,811) *
* 2001 0 29,841,069 (655,785) (40,346) *
* 2002 0 29,841,069 (655,785) (40,346) *
* 2003 0 29,841,069 (655,785) (40,346) *
* 2004 0 29,841,069 (655,785) (40,346) *
***************************************************************************
*****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) to *
* Guadalupe County *
* 2000 $(16,811) *
* 2001 (40,346) *
* 2002 (40,346) *
* 2003 (40,346) *
* 2004 (40,346) *
*****************************************************
Technology Impact
None.
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would allow the board of the VIA Metropolitan Transit (VIA) to
order an election to create an advanced transportation district within
the authority's boundaries and to impose a sales and use tax at the rate
of 0.25 percent. If the majority of voters in the City of San Antonio
would vote in favor of the proposition, the district would be created. If
the majority of voters in any other municipality or unincorporated area
within the authority would vote in favor of the proposition, the district
would also include the territory of those entities favoring the creation
of the district. The authority would pay for the cost of an election.
Upon creation of a district, in units of local government where the
imposition of the local sales and use tax by the transportation district
would result in a total local sales tax of more than 2 percent, all
local sales and use taxes imposed by or within the unit would be
repealed, except for the authority's sales and use tax and the municipal
sales tax of 1 percent.
Methodology
This analysis assumes that the board of VIA Metropolitan Transit would
call an election to create an advanced transportation district during the
first half of fiscal year 2000 and that the Comptroller of Public
Accounts would receive a copy of the order canvassing the election
results prior to April 1, 2000. This analysis assumes that all 16
municipalities and the unincorporated areas belonging to VIA would vote
in favor of the creation of a district. It is assumed that the sales and
use tax of the district would thus take effect on April 1, 2000.
Assuming a median cost of a local election of $.52 per capita, as
determined by a recent survey of local governments, the cost of an
election to create an advanced transportation district is estimated at
$515,265 for VIA. This is based on a population of 990,895 in the
incorporated areas of VIA.
The Comptroller of Public Accounts' "Allocation Historical Summary" sales
tax data for calendar year 1998 was used in this analysis. It is assumed
that the 0.25 percent sales tax for the newly created advanced
transportation districts of VIA Metropolitan transit would generate
revenues equal to 50 percent of the amount of revenue the authority
collected in calendar year 1998, since the authority's current sales and
use tax rate is 0.5 percent.
The estimated revenue losses to Comal and Guadalupe counties are based on
the assumption that county taxes imposed within the City of Selma would
be repealed upon creation of an advanced transportation district. Tax
collections for the City of Selma were used to estimate county tax
collections, and, for the purposes of this analysis, it is assumed that
the city's sales tax collections are spilt evenly among the three
counties in which Selma is located: Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe.
Local Government Impact
The newly created advanced transportation district would receive revenues
of approximately $29.8 million per year to be used for advanced
transportation purposes within the district. If the City of San Antonio
would vote to create the district, but some of the other 15
municipalities or the unincorporated area of VIA would choose not to join
the transportation district, district revenue could be slightly lower.
Since the City of Balcones Heights Crime Control and Prevention District
imposes a sales and use tax of 0.5 percent, and since the total local
sales tax rate in Balcones Heights is already at 2 percent, the crime
control district would lose all of its sales tax revenues if the City of
Balcones Heights would vote to join the advanced transportation district.
This would result in an estimated loss to the district of approximately
$655,000 per year. If voters in Balcones Heights would choose not to join
the district, there would be no fiscal impact to the Balcones Heights
Crime Control District.
Since Guadalupe and Comal Counties each impose a 0.5 percent sales tax in
the City of Selma, and since the total local sales and use tax rate
within the city is already at the maximum 2 percent, it is expected that
the county sales tax would be repealed within each municipality, if the
voters in the City of Selma would vote to join the district. Each county
could lose revenues estimated at approximately $40,000 per year as a
result. If the City of Selma would not join the district, there would be
no fiscal impact to these counties.
If the board would not choose to order an election to create a district,
no fiscal implications to the authority or to any municipality that
belongs to the authority would be expected.
Source Agencies:
LBB Staff: JK, TL