LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session April 7, 2001 TO: Honorable Clyde Alexander, Chair, House Committee on Transportation FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB1911 by Capelo (Relating to a child safety fee in certain counties.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** The bill would allow a county commissioners court to increase the additional fee for registering a motor vehicle in the county to not more than $3, with the additional monies to be deposited into the child safety fund program. The bill would also allow a municipality in the county with an aggregate population that exceeds two-thirds of the population of the county to request imposition of this fee. If the fee is adopted, the county would be required to notify the Texas Department of Transportation within 45 days of the date of the request. The fee could be removed only if one or more municipalities in the county with an aggregate population that exceeds two-thirds of the population of the county request its removal in writing. Local Government Impact Current law allows the commissioners court to impose the additional fee up to $1.50. There is no provision that allows cities to request an increase. The Tax Assessor-Collector's Office in Harris County reported they registered over 2.6 million motor vehicles in the most recent 12-month period. If the fee were to be increased from $1.50 to $3, Harris County would gain additional revenue estimated at $3,916,317 per year, not including other increases from population growth projections. The Tax Assessor-Collector's Office in Nueces County indicated their commissioners court imposed the order for the additional $1.50 motor vehicle registration fee beginning in February 2001. The county estimates approximately 265,000 motor vehicle transactions each year would increase their revenue by $397,500 if the rate were increased to $3. The Tax Assessor-Collectors with Brown, Orange and Galveston counties reported no impact to their counties since the current additional collection of $1.50 has never been ordered by their commissioner's courts. For those counties that impose the fee, there would be a positive impact. The impact would vary by county population size and number of vehicles registered. Source Agencies: 601 Texas Department of Transportation, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, JO, DB