LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              April 10, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Warren Chisum, Chair, House Committee on
               Environmental Regulation
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB1900  by Turner, Sylvester (Relating to waste tire
               enforcement and cleanup; requiring a fee.), As Introduced
  
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*  Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for    *
*  HB1900, As Introduced:  positive impact of $0 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.                                                             *
**************************************************************************
  
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
  
          ****************************************************
          *  Fiscal Year  Probable Net Positive/(Negative)   *
          *               Impact to General Revenue Related  *
          *                             Funds                *
          *       2002                                   $0  *
          *       2003                                    0  *
          *       2004                                    0  *
          *       2005                                    0  *
          *       2006                                    0  *
          ****************************************************
  
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  *
*             Waste Tire           Waste Tire             FY 2001        *
*           Enforcement and      Enforcement and                         *
*          Cleanup Account/     Cleanup Account/                         *
*            GR-Dedicated         GR-Dedicated                           *
*                5001                 5001                               *
*  2002            $42,848,000           $(972,298)                 11.0 *
*  2003             44,562,000            (846,848)                 11.0 *
*  2004             46,344,000            (846,848)                 11.0 *
*  2005             48,198,000            (846,848)                 11.0 *
*  2006             50,126,000            (846,848)                 11.0 *
**************************************************************************
  
Technology Impact
  
The bill would require the purchase of 11 new computers and related
software and equipment for new positions.  In addition, the Comptroller
anticipates one-time programming costs of $12,230 to modify existing
automated fee system to implement the provisions of this bill.
  
  
Fiscal Analysis
  
This bill would amend Chapter 361 of the Health and Safety Code to rename
General Revenue-Dedicated Account No. 5001, Waste Tire Recycling  to
General Revenue-Dedicated Account No. 5001, Waste Tire Enforcement and
Cleanup.

The Comptroller's Office would be responsible for collection of the waste
tire enforcement and cleanup fee.  A $2.00 fee per tire would be
collected from a wholesale or retail tire dealer who sold, or offered to
sell, new tires not for resale with a rim diameter equal to or greater
than 12 inches but less than 26 inches.  The bill would allow a retailer
to retain 2-1/2 cents from each fee the dealer collected, and the dealer
would have to list the fee as a separate item on an invoice.  The
Comptroller would determine how dealers would account for the amount
retained.  The bill would require the fees collected to be deposited to
the credit of the account.

Dealers  would have to remit fee collections on a monthly basis, but
dealers that collected less than $50 per month or less than $150 per
calendar quarter could file a quarterly report and remittance with the
Comptroller.

The bill would require dealers to maintain an invoice or other record for
four years after the date on which the invoice or record was prepared.
A penalty equal to 5 percent of the amount of the fee due would apply if
a person failed to file a report or failed to remit money.  An additional
penalty would apply for failure to report or remit the fee by the 30th
day after the date the fee was due.

The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) would
administer the account.  The bill would allow appropriations from the
account to be made to local governments for the enforcement of waste tire
laws and programs dedicated to the cleanup of waste tires.

TNRCC could keep up to 6 percent of the annual fees collected, and the
Comptroller up to 2 percent, for the reasonable and necessary
administrative costs of performing necessary duties.

The bill would grant local governments the authority to regulate the
disposal of waste tires and adopt a program to address the problems
created by improper waste tire disposal.

This bill would take effect September 1, 2001.
  
  
Methodology
  
Based on the number of scrap tires in Texas in calendar year 2000, and
the growth rate from the previous waste tire recycling programs, the
Comptroller estimates additional revenue collections to the Waste Tire
Enforcement and Clean Up Account of $42.8 million in fiscal year 2002 and
a four percent increase in revenue collections in each fiscal year
thereafter.

Additional costs to the Comptroller in collecting the fee are $224,829 in
the first year, and $187,379 on a recurring basis.  Although the
Comptroller's office anticipates this will require an increase in FTEs,
it is assumed that any additional FTEs can be absorbed within the
agency's existing FTE cap.

The TNRCC anticipates the administrative costs of this new program to be
$747,469 in fiscal year 2002, and $659,469 in recurring costs.  This
cost includes 11 FTEs that would be responsible for allocating funds to
local governments for waste tire enforcement and clean up projects.
  
  
Local Government Impact
  
Based on the provisions of this bill, local governments would be eligible
to receive an estimated $42.8 million in grant funds each year for the
enforcement of waste tire laws and the clean up of waste tire sites.
  
  
Source Agencies:   582   Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission,
                   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, CL, ZS