LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
April 20, 2001
TO: Honorable J.E. "Buster" Brown, Chair, Senate Committee on
Natural Resources
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: SB1541 by Duncan (Relating to the permanent management
of low-level radioactive waste.), Committee Report 1st
House, Substituted
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* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* SB1541, 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. *
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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:
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*Fiscal Probable Revenue Probable Change in Number of *
* Year Gain/(Loss) from Low Savings/(Cost) from State Employees from *
* Level Waste Account/ Low Level Waste FY 2001 *
* GR-Dedicated Account/ *
* 0088 GR-Dedicated *
* 0088 *
* 2002 $2,444,730 $(1,199,730) 13.0 *
* 2003 3,095,730 (3,095,730) 13.0 *
* 2004 3,178,784 (3,178,784) 13.0 *
* 2005 3,178,784 (3,178,784) 13.0 *
* 2006 3,178,784 (3,178,784) 13.0 *
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Technology Impact
The bill would require the cost of personal computers and related
equipment for thirteen new positions.
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would grant the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
(TNRCC) power to permanently manage low-level radioactive waste. The
bill would replace references to the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste
Disposal Authority with TNRCC. TNRCC would oversee the issuance of a
license for permanent management at a permanent management facility. The
bill would allow the facility to accept federal facility waste at a
separate facility adjacent to the permanent facility.
The bill would require an applicant to submit a nonrefundable fee of
$100,000 along with an application. An application fee for the permanent
management license, in an amount to be determined by TNRCC, also would
be levied. The bill would require certain ownership standards, and it
would require that the site had not been revoked by a referendum of each
county's voters, certified by the commissioners court of each county
where the proposed facility would be located. The bill would establish a
four-tier system for TNRCC to use in evaluating applications for the
proposed facility.
The successful applicant would have to convey to the state all rights,
title, and interest to the land on which the facility would be located.
Federal law would govern the transfer of the separate adjacent facility
for federal waste. TNRCC would have the right to inspect the facility,
activities at the facility, and all records related to the facility's
activities. The permanent management license would have a
nontransferable 35-year term.
The bill would require TNRCC to prepare a report for the appropriate
legislative committees as a basis for periodic oversight. The report
would include the status of interstate compacts and agreements and the
status of funds held, expended, or disbursed by the host county.
TNRCC and others would be required to develop a health surveillance
survey for the population surrounding the facility. TNRCC would have the
right to enter public or private property to assess the suitability of
land for a permanent management facility.
TNRCC could require the holder of the license to pay an annual amount, to
be determined by TNRCC, to oversee the facility after the activities
under the license were terminated. The bill would allow TNRCC to take
corrective action if the public health and safety and the environment
were threatened and the license holder was unable to remove that threat.
The bill would require TNRCC to transfer money in General Revenue
Dedicated Account No. 0088, Low-Level Radioactive Waste to the
commissioners court of the host county. Each person who delivered
nonfederal radioactive waste would have to pay a waste disposal fee to
the state in the name of TNRCC. The generator of the federal facility
waste would be surcharged ten percent of the gross receipts from fees or
charges related to the disposal of federal facility waste for transfer to
the commissioners court in the host county.
The bill would create a new General Revenue-Dedicated Account, the
Permanent Management Facility Decommissioning Account. Interest earned
would be deposited to the credit of the new account. The bill would
require TNRCC to determine an amount necessary to fund the
decommissioning of the facility and to determine the portion of fees
collected necessary to fund the account. TNRCC would direct the
Comptroller to deposit into the new account that portion of fees. TNRCC
would be required to review the account balance each biennium and, upon
reaching a balance that would generate enough interest income to
decommission the facility in the time period projected, instruct the
Comptroller to discontinue directing fee revenue into the new account.
Money in the decommissioning account could be used to decommission the
adjacent federal facility waste site. TNRCC would be required to
determine the proportional amount of money necessary to fund
decommissioning the federal site and charge the license holder a fee for
each shipment of federal facility waste accepted for disposal. The
revenue would be deposited into the decommissioning account. TNRCC would
stop charging the fee when they direct the Comptroller to discontinue
directing money into the decommissioning account.
If the licensed facility were to be designated an "assured isolation
facility," the bill would create for General Revenue-Dedicated Account,
the Assured Isolation Conversion Account. Interest earned would be
deposited to the credit of that account. The bill would require TNRCC to
determine an amount necessary to fund the conversion of the facility and
to determine the portion of fees necessary to pay those fees over time.
TNRCC would direct the Comptroller to deposit the fees into that
account. TNRCC would be required to review the account balance each
biennium and, upon reaching a balance that would generate enough interest
income to decommission the facility in the time period projected,
instruct the Comptroller to stop directing fee revenue into that account.
Fee revenue collected from waste disposal fees, processing and packaging
fees, civil penalties, payments by member states of the compact, and
other receipts would be deposited to the credit of General
Revenue-Dedicated Account No. 0088.
The bill would authorize TNRCC to issue, sell, and retire revenue bonds.
The bonds would be payable from receipts collected by TNRCC and credited
to General Revenue-Dedicated Account No. 0088.
Methodology
For purposes of this analysis, the following assumptions are made:
*three license applications will be received, generating fee revenue of
$1,245,000;
* $2.0 million per year beginning in fiscal year 2004 for technical
review contract services;
*costs and fee revenue to the Decommissioning Account are not estimated
as these costs would depend upon the type of facility licensed and the
amount of waste disposed; and
*no construction costs are contemplated as these activities take place
after a facility has opened and begun taking waste.
The current balance in General Revenue-Dedicated Account No. 088 is $5.7
million. Additional applicant fees will generate $1.2 million in
revenue that is available to fund TNRCC administrative costs until the
facility opens and waste disposal fees can be collected. It is assumed
for purposes of this analysis that the fees charged applicants will
cover the $2.0 million technical review contract.
Local Government Impact
The host county of permanent management site would be eligible to receive
10 percent of the annual gross receipts from waste disposal fees.
Source Agencies: 582 Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission,
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff: JK, CL, ZS