LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session May 26, 2001 TO: Honorable Bill Ratliff, Lieutenant Governor Honorable James E. "Pete" Laney, Speaker of the House FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: SB1128 by Bernsen (Relating to landscaping and billboards along highways; imposing a civil penalty.), Conference Committee Report ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** The bill would amend the Transportation Code to require the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to consider certain factors when developing transportation projects involving the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or resurfacing of a highway other than a maintenance resurfacing project. The bill would prohibit "off-premise" signs on certain highways or portions of highways and would establish guidelines and requirements for the re-erection, reconstruction, repair, and rebuilding of those signs. The bill would require TxDOT to study current regulations affecting billboards, to study the feasibility of adopting a scenic byways program, and to report the findings of the study to the 78th Legislature no later than January 1, 2003. The section of the bill requiring TxDOT to report would expire January 2, 2003. The bill would establish a civil penalty for violations in an amount between $500 and $1,000 for each violation and would establish requirements for bringing suit for a violation. The bill would allow the Attorney General, a district or county attorney, or a municipal attorney to file a suit and collect a penalty. All penalties collected by the Attorney General would be deposited to the credit of the State Highway Fund. No significant fiscal impact is anticipated due to the amount of estimated collections and because TxDOT currently allocates approximately $6 million annually for similar purposes. The bill would take effect September 1, 2001. Local Government Impact No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. Source Agencies: LBB Staff: JK, JO, MW