LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 78TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 1, 2003

TO:	Honorable Robert Puente, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB2664 by Puente (Relating to the office of public interest counsel.), As Introduced

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB2664, As Introduced: a positive impact of $200,000 through the biennium ending August 31, 2005.

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
2004	$100,000
2005	$100,000
2006	$100,000
2007	$100,000
2008	$100,000

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable (Cost) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1
2004	$100,000
2005	$100,000
2006	$100,000
2007	$100,000
2008	$100,000

Fiscal Analysis

The bill would separate the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's (TCEQ's) Office of Public Interest Counsel's (OPIC's) budget from the TCEQ's budget for appropriation purposes. The bill would require the OPIC to submit a separate Legislative Appropriations Request to the Legislative Budget Board. The bill would also provide that at least $100,000 would be included in the OPIC's budget for outside technical expertise.

Methodology

This estimate assumes that all current appropriations to the TCEQ would transfer to the OPIC. Upon passage of the bill, appropriations to the TCEQ would be reduced by $456,852 in General Revenue Funds each fiscal year and appropriations would be made to the OPIC in the same amount. The OPIC would receive an FTE cap of nine and the TCEQ's FTE cap would be reduced by nine. These estimates are based on the annual budget for the OPIC as provided by the TCEQ.

Since the bill provides that the OPIC's budget must include $100,000 for outside technical expertise, and since the TCEQ currently does not provide a budget for outside technical expertise designated for the OPIC, it is expected that General Revenue appropriations for the OPIC would increase by $100,000 per year.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:	304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
LBB Staff:	JK, CL, MS, TL