LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              March 19, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Rene Oliveira, Chair, House Committee on Ways &
               Means
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB1710  by Brimer (Relating to the financing of certain
               economic development projects.), As Introduced
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
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The bill would amend the Development Corporation Act of 1979 to allow
certain cities that have created a development corporation to seek voter
approval for additional projects to be funded from a sales and use tax
that was previously used to fund an approved sports venue project.  A
municipality would be authorized to call an election to levy a sales and
use tax for approved projects after a previously enacted sales tax was no
longer collected. The bill would eliminate the requirement that the
principal amount of bonds and other obligations that by their terms are
payable in whole or in part from the sales and use tax, together with the
amount of the costs of the projects, other than interest on bonds and
other obligations for which payment is made in cash directly from the
proceeds of the tax, could not exceed $135 million in the aggregate.

The bill would allow cities utilizing a 4B economic development sales tax
to call an election to approve a sales and use tax to be used to fund
additional sports venue projects, subsequent to the retirement of debt
on a previous project and the corresponding repeal of the sales tax
associated with the servicing of the prior debt.
  
Local Government Impact
  
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is
anticipated.
  
  
Source Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, SD, DB, SM