LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              April 4, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Robert Junell, Chair, House Committee on
               Appropriations
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB2095  by Isett (Relating to the constitutional
               limitation on the rate of growth of appropriations.), As
               Introduced
  
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*  No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated in the current      *
*  biennium.  The impact on the allowable level of state                 *
*  appropriations in subsequent biennia would depend on the              *
*  composition of state revenue in those biennia.                        *
**************************************************************************
  
Currently, Article VIII, Section 22, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 316,
Government Code, limit the biennial growth of certain appropriations to
the estimated rate of growth of the state s economy.  The current limit
applies only to appropriations from state tax revenue not dedicated by
the constitution.

The bill, in conjunction with a proposed constitutional amendment, would
limit the biennial growth of appropriations in the General Appropriations
Act from all state revenue sources except federal funds to the estimated
rate of growth of total personal income in the state.

Under the current law, the appropriations limit for a subsequent biennium
can increase or decrease as a result of changes in estimated
appropriations for the then current biennium.  The bill would allow only
net decreases in estimated appropriations to affect the appropriations
limit for the subsequent biennium.

The bill would take effect only if a constitutional amendment expanding
the application of the Article VIII, Section 22, limit to all state
funds except federal receipts is adopted.  The provisions of the bill
would first apply to appropriations for the 2004-05 biennium.
  
Local Government Impact
  
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
  
  
Source Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, SD, RS