LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                            February 12, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable J.E. "Buster" Brown, Chair, Senate Committee on
               Natural Resources
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB416  by Ogden (Relating to the authority of the Texas
               Department of Transportation in connection with the
               mitigation of an adverse environmental impact resulting
               from a state highway improvement project.), As
               Introduced
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
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The bill would amend the Transportation Code to allow the Department of
Transportation to pay a fee, if authorized by the applicable regulatory
authority, to an appropriate public agency in lieu of acquiring or
agreeing to manage property for the mitigation of an adverse
environmental impact that is a direct result of a state highway
improvement project.  The agency estimates the cost difference between
acquiring or agreeing to manage properties and paying fees to be
insignificant.

The bill would take effect immediately upon a vote of two-thirds of all
the members elected to each house; otherwise, it would take effect
September 1, 2001.
  
Local Government Impact
  
If the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) chose to pay a local
government agency a fee for clean-up of an adverse environmental problem
caused by a state highway improvement project, the local agency would
experience a revenue gain to offset the costs of the clean-up.  If the
fee paid by TXDOT was insufficient to fully cover the costs of the
clean-up, then the local government agency would have to pay the
difference between the cost and the amount covered by fees received,
which could be significant.
  
  
Source Agencies:   601   Texas Department of Transportation, 302
                   Office of the Attorney General
LBB Staff:         JK, CL, RT, MW, DB