SRC-JLB H.B. 1481 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   H.B. 1481
78R9871 SGA-FBy: Allen (Estes)
Natural Resources
5/14/2003
Engrossed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, Title V emissions fees are commingled with all of the other
clean air act fees in the clean air act account, and the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality cannot demonstrate and does not know whether it
is spending the Title V emissions fees it collects only for costs of
developing and administering the Texas Title V operating permits program.
H.B. 1481 establishes a separate, operating fees account in the state
treasury to the credit of which all future Title V emissions fees will be
deposited.  This bill also clarifies that any balance remaining in the
dedicated Title V emissions operating fees account at the end of a fiscal
year must be left in that account and used in subsequent fiscal years
solely to cover costs of developing and administering the Texas Title V
operating permits program. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality in SECTION 2 of this bill.  

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 382.0622, Health and Safety Code, by amending
Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (b-3), as follows: 
 
(b)  Requires Clean Air Act fees, except as provided by Subsection (b-1),
to be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the clean air
account and to be used to safeguard the air resources of the state. 
 
(b-1)  Requires fees collected under Section 382.0621(a) on or after
September 1, 2003, to be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of
the operating permit fees account. Prohibits fees collected under Section
382.0621(a) from being commingled with any fees in the clean air account
or with any other money in the state treasury. 
 
(b-2)  Authorizes money in the operating permit fees account established
under Subsection (b-1) to be appropriated to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) only to cover the costs of developing and
administering the federal permit programs under Title IV or V of the
federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Section 7651 et seq. and Section 7661 et
seq.). 
 
(b-3)  Provides that Section 403.095, Government Code, does not apply to
the operating permit fees account established under Subsection (b-1) and
requires any balance remaining in the operating permit fees account at the
end of a fiscal year to be left in the account and used in the next or
subsequent fiscal years only for the purposes stated in Subsection (b-2). 
 
SECTION 2.  (a)  Effective date:  September 1, 2003.
 
(b)  Requires TCEQ, not later than December 1, 2003, to adopt any rules
required for the implementation of this Act.