LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
March 5, 2001
TO: Honorable Juan Hinojosa, Chair, House Committee on
Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: HB90 by Hill (Relating to the civil and criminal
consequences of operating a motor vehicle while
intoxicated.), As Introduced
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* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* HB90, As Introduced: negative impact of $(4,249,919) through the *
* biennium ending August 31, 2003. *
* *
* The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal *
* basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of *
* the bill. *
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General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2002 $(2,981,385) *
* 2003 (1,268,534) *
* 2004 (1,269,962) *
* 2005 (1,271,390) *
* 2006 (1,272,818) *
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All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
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*Fiscal Probable Revenue Probable Change in Number of *
* Year Gain/(Loss) from Savings/(Cost) from State Employees from *
* General Revenue Fund General Revenue Fund FY 2001 *
* 0001 0001 *
* 2002 $(747,000) $(2,234,385) 26.0 *
* 2003 75,000 (1,343,534) 26.0 *
* 2004 75,000 (1,344,962) 26.0 *
* 2005 75,000 (1,346,390) 26.0 *
* 2006 75,000 (1,347,818) 26.0 *
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Technology Impact
It is estimated the technology impact of the bill would be $95,948 in
fiscal year 2002 only. Implementing the bill would cost $63,360 in
contract programming costs to implement the new license plate and
registration suspension transactions in the driver's license history
data base, and $32,588 for computer hardware and software for the
additional personnel.
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Transportation Code and the Code of Criminal
Procedure relating to the civil and criminal consequences of operating a
motor vehicle while intoxicated. The Department of Public Safety (DPS)
would be required to suspend all vehicle registration of a person who is
convicted of a second or subsequent offense relating to the operation of
a motor vehicle while intoxicated occurring within five years of the most
recent preceding offense. The registration suspension would run
concurrently with the driver's license suspension. The bill would
prohibit the renewal of the suspended registration or the registration of
another vehicle in the name of the person suspended. The bill would
require DPS to automatically suspend the vehicle registrations for one
year of repeat driving while intoxicated (DWI) offenders. The bill would
provide for reinstatement of the registration after the suspension
period upon the payment of a $50 fee. The bill would amend the
Transportation Code by increasing the driver's license suspension of
repeat DWI offenders from 180 days to one year. The bill would partially
implement PSC - 7 of the Comptrollers e-Texas report.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2001.
Methodology
DPS estimates that 15,000 licensees annually would be affected by this
bill. DPS would require additional personnel to receive,
cross-reference, store, and mail some 15,000 additional sets of
registrations and license plates. Thus, across mail operations, central
cash receiving (for the $50 reinstatement fee), and data entry and
processing, it is estimated that DPS would need nine additional personnel
for administrative purposes. The bill would require a DPS employee to
obtain and return to DPS registration receipts and license plates of
persons who are required to send these to DPS but fail to comply. It is
estimated that DPS would require 15 troopers and two sergeants to perform
this task without diverting existing troopers from their primary duties.
In total it is estimated that 26 employees would be needed to implement
the bill. Salary costs would average approximately $810,000 per year
with associated benefits averaging $229,000. Operating costs including
postage, supplies, utilities, and other costs would average $214,800 per
year. There would be a one-time cost for equipment in fiscal year 2002
of $589,332 including computer equipment. Most of this equipment however
would be for the law enforcement officers. Finally, there would be a
one-time cost of $314,406 for training the recruited troopers.
The Comptroller's Office estimates that extending the driver's license
suspension period to one year would cause a one-time delay in license
reinstatement fee collections resulting in a revenue loss of $447,000 in
fiscal year 2002. DPS estimates that 50 percent of the 15,000 licensees
would pay the $50 registration reinstatement fee resulting in a revenue
gain in fiscal year 2003 and subsequent years of $375,000. Finally there
would be a revenue loss due to a decrease in the number of vehicles
registered over the one year suspension. The average cost of registering
a vehicle in Texas is $60 with $40 deposited into the General Revenue
Fund and $20 retained by county government. Assuming the annual number
of vehicles not registered over the one year license suspension period is
7,500 (half of the vehicles that are registered to someone with a
suspended license), the annual loss to General Revenue would be $300,000.
The bill would partially bring Texas into compliance with the federal
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). Failure to
comply with TEA-21 will result in the transference of 1.5 percent of
Texas' highway construction funds into safety and hazard elimination
programs in 2002, and 3 percent in subsequent years. This amount is
estimated by the Texas Department of Transportation to be $43 million in
fiscal year 2002 and $85 million in subsequent years. The bill is a
companion bill to HB91. The costs in this bill are reflective of the
costs of this bill passing individually, or both bills passing together.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is
anticipated. The number of vehicles not registered annually would
result in an estimated loss to county government of $150,000 each year.
Source Agencies: 517 Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 405
Texas Department of Public Safety, 601 Texas
Department of Transportation, 304 Comptroller of
Public Accounts
LBB Staff: JK, JC, JN, DG