LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session March 22, 2001 TO: Honorable J.E. "Buster" Brown, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: SB1335 by Brown, J. E. "Buster" (Relating to certain river authorities and water districts, the codification of Acts creating and regulating the authorities and districts, and the creation of the Texas Water Policy Council to review the authorities and districts.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for * * SB1335, As Introduced: 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 Probable Savings/(Cost) from Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) * * Year General Revenue Fund from General Revenue Fund * * 0001 0001 * * 2002 $(292,887) $292,887 * * 2003 (292,887) 292,887 * * 2004 (292,887) 292,887 * * 2005 (292,887) 292,887 * * 2006 (292,887) 292,887 * *************************************************************************** Fiscal Analysis The bill would require the State Auditor's Office to conduct annual audits on four river authorities. The bill provides for the State Auditor's Office to recover costs incurred in conducting such audits. The bill would create the Texas Water Policy Council. The Council would conduct reviews of water districts and authorities as specified in the bill on a 5-year cycle and provide reports on the findings of those reviews on a biennial basis. The Council would have a secretary who would be a full-time employee of the Natural Resource Conservation Commission. Other necessary staff would be provided by the Water Development Board. The bill would create the Interagency Water Policy Account, a General-Revenue Dedicated Account, in the state treasury. The bill would provide for authority officials to be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses by legislative appropriation. Methodology The State Auditor's Office would require 2.5 additional FTEs to conduct the audits required by the bill. Total salary and benefit costs are estimated at $292,887 per year, based on an expected 4,225 hours of audit time at $54.04 per hour. All costs are expected to be recovered from the four river authorities. State agencies included as members of the Water Policy Council or required to provide staff to the Council could incur some administrative costs associated with attending meetings and preparing reports required by the bill. However, these costs are not anticipated to be significant. The bills provision providing for officials of the Water Policy Council to be eligible for reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses is not expected to result in significant fiscal implications. Local Government Impact No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. Source Agencies: 596 Texas River Compact Commissions, 592 State Soil & Water Conservation Board, 582 Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, 305 General Land Office, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 308 State Auditor's Office, 455 Railroad Commission of Texas, 802 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 580 Texas Water Development Board, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, CL, DB, TL