LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                                May 3, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Joe Driver, Chair, House Committee on
               Constitutional Revision, Select
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HJR69  by Junell (Proposing a constitutional amendment
               relating to certain operations of state and local
               government.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
  
**************************************************************************
*  Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for    *
*  HJR69, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted:  negative impact      *
*  of $(80,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2003.             *
**************************************************************************
  
The resolutions proposes a constitutional amendment affecting various
provisions of the state constitution.
  
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
  
          ****************************************************
          *  Fiscal Year  Probable Net Positive/(Negative)   *
          *               Impact to General Revenue Related  *
          *                             Funds                *
          *       2002                            $(80,000)  *
          *       2003                                    0  *
          *       2004                            (125,000)  *
          *       2005                                    0  *
          *       2006                            (127,500)  *
          ****************************************************
  
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
  
***************************************************************************
*Fiscal    Probable Savings/(Cost) from    Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss)   *
* Year         General Revenue Fund         from General Revenue Fund     *
*                      0001                            0001               *
*  2002                         $(80,000)                              $0 *
*  2003                                 0                               0 *
*  2004                                 0                       (125,000) *
*  2005                                 0                               0 *
*  2006                                 0                       (127,500) *
***************************************************************************
  
Fiscal Analysis
  
The following provisions of the bill could have fiscal implications:

Creating staggered four-year terms for members of the House of
Representatives, and staggered six-year terms for Senators would result
in the loss of filing fee revenue.

The proposed bill would create the Texas Salary Commission which would
set maximum compensation for officers in the executive branch, judges and
justices, and set the compensation of the members of the legislature.
The current compensation for members of the legislature would continue
until the Salary Commission set new legislative salaries.  Operating
expenses of the commission would be an additional cost to the state.

The bill would allow the legislature to grant property tax exemptions and
relief.  Under the current constitution, a constitutional amendment is
necessary to provide new property tax exemptions.
  
  
Methodology
  
The estimate of revenue losses shown above are from lost filing fees
resulting from six-year terms for the Senate and four-year terms for the
House of Representatives. The estimate above does not include estimates
of future actions of the Salary Commission.

The cost of publication would be $80,000.
  
  
Local Government Impact
  
The bill would prohibit political subdivisions that did not impose a
property tax on or before September 1, 2001 from imposing a property tax
without voter approval.  Political subdivisions would be prohibited from
issuing general obligation bonds (except refunding bonds) without voter
approval and from providing for repayment of the bonds.  The authority
of the legislature to grant property tax exemptions could have an impact
on units of local governments.
  
  
Source Agencies:   307   Secretary of State
LBB Staff:         JK, TB, WP, RS