LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
April 6, 2001
TO: Honorable David Sibley, Chair, Senate Committee on
Business & Commerce
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: SB246 by Shapleigh (Relating to a review of
transportation projects related to international trade.),
Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
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* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* SB246, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: 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:
*****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Savings/(Cost) from State *
* Highway Fund *
* 0006 *
* 2002 $(500,000) *
* 2003 0 *
* 2004 0 *
* 2005 0 *
* 2006 0 *
*****************************************************
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Transportation Code to require the Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to include in its annual review of
projects, the development of recommendations concerning how state and
federal highway funds or resources may be used in TxDOT's Pharr, Laredo,
and El Paso districts to increase international trade. The bill would
require TxDOT to make recommendations concerning transportation linkages
between national markets, international markets, and the area adjacent to
the border with Mexico; strategies to eliminate congestion at border
crossings; and revisions to the department's funding formulas to increase
funding to the department's Pharr, Laredo and El Paso districts for the
purposes of permanently increasing and facilitating planning and
capacity, improving traffic infrastructure in those districts, increasing
trade, expediting the flow of commercial motor vehicle traffic related
to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and reflect and address the
damage caused by that traffic. The bill would require TxDOT to cooperate
with the Center for Transportation Research (CTR) at the University of
Texas at Austin and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) to develop
the recommendations and report them to the Legislature no later than
February 1, of each odd-numbered year.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2001.
Methodology
TxDOT estimates that implementing the provisions of the bill would
require contracts to be established with CTR and TTI in an amount of
$250,000 per entity during the first year and that updates would
continually be made to the study every other year beginning in fiscal
year 2004.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is
anticipated.
Source Agencies: 601 Texas Department of Transportation
LBB Staff: JK, JO, RT, MW