LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
May 16, 2001
TO: Honorable Clyde Alexander, Chair, House Committee on
Transportation
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: SB1809 by Zaffirini (Relating to the issuance of permits
for the operation of oversize and overweight vehicles on
certain highways by the City of Laredo and by the City
of El Paso; providing penalties.), As Engrossed
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* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* SB1809, As Engrossed: 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 Savings/(Cost) from Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) *
* Year State Highway Fund from State Highway Fund *
* 0006 0006 *
* 2002 $(16,282,560) $1,115,625 *
* 2003 (162,825,600) 1,160,250 *
* 2004 0 1,227,188 *
* 2005 0 1,294,125 *
* 2006 0 647,866 *
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Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Transportation Code to allow the Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to authorize the cities of Laredo
and El Paso to issue permits for the movement of oversize or overweight
vehicles carrying cargo on certain roads and bridges. The bill would
prohibit TxDOT from authorizing the issuance of a permit for the movement
of cargo with a gross weight of more than 125,000 pounds in Laredo and
120,000 in El Paso. The bill would require permits to include certain
information and to specify the time in which movement authorized by the
permit is allowed. The bill would also require the cities of Laredo and
El Paso to report all permits issued under the bill to TxDOT.
The bill would allow the city of Laredo to retain 15 percent of permit
fees collected to defray administrative expenses and would require the
remaining 85 percent to be deposited to the credit of the State Highway
Fund to be used for the maintenance of certain state highways in
accordance with the provisions of the bill. The bill would allow permit
fees collected by the city of El Paso to be used only by the city of El
Paso to fund the maintenance of certain state highways in accordance with
the provisions of the bill. The bill would also provide that the permit
fee would be the same as the permit fee issued by TxDOT for oversize or
overweight vehicles under Chapter 623 of the Transportation Code.
The bill would prohibit movement authorized by a permit from exceeding
the lesser of the posted speed limit or 55 miles per hour and would make
an offense under the provisions of the bill a Class C misdemeanor and a
moving violation. The bill would authorize the Department of Public
Safety to enforce the provisions of the bill.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2001 and the provisions of the
bill would expire March 1, 2005.
Methodology
For the purposes of this analysis, TxDOT estimates an average replacement
cost of $645,000 per lane mile. TxDOT estimates that 4 lanes of road
for 17.8 miles on FM 1472 in Laredo would have to be replaced within 18
months of the first issuance of the permits due to the road's current
condition. TxDOT estimates that replacement costs of approximately $4.5
million for preliminary design and engineering in fiscal year 2002 and
approximately $45.9 million in fiscal year 2003 would be realized in
Laredo with the implementation of the bill.
TxDOT estimates that 181.28 road miles on certain international bridges,
ports of entry, and highways in El Paso would have to be replaced with 12
inch concrete in 18 months of the first issuance of the permits due to
the road's current condition. TxDOT estimates that replacement costs of
approximately $11.6 million for preliminary design and engineering in
fiscal year 2002 and approximately $116.9 million in fiscal year 2003
would be realized in El Paso with the implementation of the bill.
TxDOT estimates that 50 trucks in Laredo and 200 in El Paso would
purchase these permits each day for 250 days in fiscal year 2002 and that
the permit fee would be $105, which is currently the average permit fee
for overweight vehicles at the Port of Brownsville. For the purposes of
this analysis, it is estimated that the number of days and fee would
remain constant throughout fiscal year 2005, that there would be 119 days
in fiscal year 2006 due to the expiration date, and that number of
permits would increase by approximately 4 percent in fiscal year 2003 and
by approximately 5 percent in each following year through March 1, 2005.
Under the provisions of the bill, 85 percent of the permit fees
collected in Laredo would be deposited to the credit of the State Highway
Fund and 100 percent of the permit fees collected in El Paso would be
retained by the city of El Paso.
No significant fiscal implication is anticipated for DPS.
Local Government Impact
It is estimated that the city of Laredo would realize a positive impact
of approximately $200,000 each year through fiscal year 2005 from
retaining 15 percent of the collected fees. It is estimated that the
amount would decrease to approximately $114,000 in fiscal year 2006 with
the expiration of the provisions of the bill.
It is also estimated that the city of El Paso would realize a positive
impact of approximately $5.2 million in fiscal year 2002 and that this
amount would increase by approximately 4 percent in fiscal year 2003 and
by approximately 5 percent in each following year through March 1, 2005,
from retaining 100 percent of the collected fees. It is estimated that
the amount would decrease to approximately $3.0 million in fiscal year
2006 with the expiration of the provisions of the bill.
Source Agencies: 601 Texas Department of Transportation, 304
Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff: JK, JO, RT, MW