| TO: | Honorable Robert Talton, Chair, House Committee on Urban Affairs |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1347 by Isett (Relating to the power of a local authority to enforce compliance with a traffic-control signal on a highway under its jurisdiction by a photographic traffic signal enforcement system.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the transportation code to prohibit a local authority from implementing or operating a photographic traffic signal enforcement system with respect to a highway under the local authority's jurisdiction. The bill would take effect immediately if it receives the required two-thirds vote in each house; otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2005.
The Office of Attorney General anticipates that any legal work resulting from passage of the bill could be reasonably absorbed using current resources.
Thirty-seven different sized municipalities from various areas of the state were contacted regarding the bill's potential fiscal impact, some where a photographic traffic signal enforcement system exists and others where installing a system is under consideration. Of the eight municipalities that responded, only the City of Amarillo finance office provided dollar amounts for the potential fiscal impact. The City of Amarillo (population of 173,627), which has been planning to establish a system, estimates that implementation would generate approximately $1 million in revenue the first year of operation. Amarillo based its estimate on figures it obtained from the City of Garland (population of 215,768), which saw a revenue gain of $250,000 in the first three months its system's operation.
The City of Houston (population of more than 1.9 million) indicated that its city council adopted an ordinance in December 2004 to implement a system and that the city is preparing for implementation. The Houston Police Department did not indicate what level of expenditures have already been made.
The cost to purchase equipment for a photographic traffic signal enforcement system ranges from $60,000 to $100,000 per camera. Monthly maintenance costs and costs associated with processing photos and mailing citations are approximately $5,000 per camera. If an authority has purchased the equipment, whether it has been installed and the program has been implemented yet, the authority would experience a negative fiscal impact for having purchased equipment that could not be used. It is assumed, however, that the equipment could be sold to recoup at least a portion of the cost.
If a local authority has a photographic traffic signal enforcement system in place, prohibiting its use would eliminate a revenue source for the authority. The amount of future revenue that would otherwise have been realized would vary by authority, but could start at approximately $1 million annually.
| Source Agencies: | 302 Office of the Attorney General, 601 Department of Transportation
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, JB, DLBa
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