LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session April 1, 2001 TO: Honorable Frank Madla, Chair, Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: SB1128 by Bernsen (Relating to landscaping and billboards along highways; imposing a civil penalty.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * 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. TxDOT would be required to allocate at least one percent of the contract costs to the district in which the project was located for landscape improvements. A new dedicated Landscape Enhancement Account would be created in the General Revenue Fund and would consist of money transferred to the account by the Legislature, gifts, grants, contributions received by TxDOT, and penalties. Funds in the account could only be appropriated to TxDOT for the purposes of landscaping. The bill would amend the Local Government Code to prohibit municipalities from relocating or reconstructing a billboard in violation of Transportation Code guidelines and would prohibit, with some exceptions, the erection, repair or rebuilding of a billboard that was substantially destroyed. The bill would allow the designation of protected highways or portions of highways along which a billboard could not be relocated. The bill would establish a civil penalty for highway billboard violations in an amount between $500 and $1,000 for each 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 into the newly-created account and any penalties collected through suits from a district, county, or municipal attorney would be equally divided between the state and the applicable county or municipality. It is assumed that penalty collections would not generate a significant amount of revenue for the State. The bill would take effect September 1, 2001. Local Government Impact The bill would require 50 percent of any penalties collected through suits from a district, county, or a municipal attorney to be retained by the applicable county or municipality. It is assumed that no significant fiscal implication to units of local government would be realized. Source Agencies: 302 Office of the Attorney General, 601 Texas Department of Transportation, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, DB, RT, MW