Honorable Frank Corte, Jr., Chair, House Committee on Defense Affairs & State-Federal Relations
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1308 by Ritter (Relating to a waiver of concealed handgun license fees for certain members and veterans of the United States armed forces.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1308, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($1,433,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2007.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2006
($699,000)
2007
($734,000)
2008
($677,000)
2009
($700,000)
2010
($730,000)
Fiscal Year
Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1
Probable Savings/(Cost) from STATE HIGHWAY FUND 6
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2005
2006
($699,000)
($251,063)
2.0
2007
($734,000)
($199,536)
2.0
2008
($677,000)
($199,536)
2.0
2009
($700,000)
($199,378)
2.0
2010
($730,000)
($199,378)
2.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Government Code as it relates to the waiver of concealed handgun license fees for certain members and veterans of the United States armed forces. The bill also would require the Department of Public Safety to waive any fees required for the issuance of an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed concealed handgun license for applicants who are members or veterans of the United States armed forces, reserves, or National Guard if they actively served at any time within 365 days preceding the date of the concealed handgun license application. The bill would take effect September 1, 2005.
Methodology
The provisions of the bill would authorize a waiver of all fees for the issuance of an original, duplicate, modified, or renewed concealed handgun license. The Department of Public Safety (DPS)reports that the average license fee is 1) $124.44 for an original application, 2) $68.20 for a renewal, and 3) $25.00 for a duplicate or modified license. The Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) assumed that 11.2 percent of current license holders (or 26,867) would meet the qualifications outlined in the bill. The CPA further assumed that each year, 25 percent of these license holders would be due for renewal and that these licenses would be renewed at a rate of 60 percent. The total loss to the state for renewals would be $274,849 (26,867 x 25 percent x 60 percent x $68.20).
DPS reports that it currently receives an average of 27,960 new applications annually. The CPA assumed that 3,137 would meet the qualifications for the fee waiver under the provisions of this bill. The total loss to the state for the original applications would be $390,368 (3,137 x $124.44).
The CPA also assumed that 1,346 applications for modified or duplicate licenses would qualify for the fee waiver under the provisions of this bill. The total loss to the state for modified or duplicate licenses would be $33,650 (1,346 x $25.00). The CPA took the aggregate loss and trended it forward over the projection period using associated growth rates employed in the 2006-2007 Biennial Revenue Estimates and arrived at a loss of $699,000 in fiscal year 2006, $734,000 in fiscal year 2007, $677,000 in fiscal year 2008, $700,000 in fiscal year 2009, and $730,000 in fiscal year 2010.
DPS reports that 2 additional FTEs will be needed to process the 3,137 original waiver applications. The total estimated cost for these additional responsibilities including salaries, benefits, equipment, professional services, and other operating costs would equal $251,063 in fiscal year 2006, $199,536 in fiscal year 2007, $199,536 in fiscal year 2008, $199,378 in fiscal year 2009, and $199,378 in fiscal year 2010.
Technology
The technology costs include $21,980 for contract programming services and $1,508 for enterprise agreement costs for DPS to make appropriate modifications. The enterprise agreement costs would be allocated as follows: $456 in fiscal year 2007, $456 in fiscal year 2008, $298 in fiscal year 2009, and $298 in fiscal year 2010.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety