LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session February 15, 2001 TO: Honorable Clyde Alexander, Chair, House Committee on Transportation FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB913 by Alexander (Relating to the authority of the Texas Department of Transportation in connection with the mitigation of an adverse environmental impact resulting from a state highway improvement project.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** The bill would amend the Transportation Code to allow the Department of Transportation to pay a fee, if authorized by the applicable regulatory authority, to an appropriate public agency in lieu of acquiring or agreeing to manage property for the mitigation of an adverse environmental impact that is a direct result of a state highway improvement project. The agency estimates the cost difference between acquiring or agreeing to manage properties and paying fees to be insignificant. The bill would take effect immediately upon a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house; otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2001. Local Government Impact If the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) chose to pay a local government agency a fee for clean-up of an adverse environmental problem caused by a state highway improvement project, the local agency would experience a revenue gain to offset the costs of the clean-up. If the fee paid by TXDOT was insufficient to fully cover the costs of the clean-up, then the local government agency would have to pay the difference between the cost and the amount covered by fees received, which could be significant. Source Agencies: 601 Texas Department of Transportation LBB Staff: JK, JO, MW, DB