LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 13, 2005

TO:	Honorable Mike Krusee, Chair, House Committee on Transportation
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB1882 by Hamric (Relating to permits issued for moving certain heavy equipment over certain highways.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would authorize the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to consider sealed ocean containers to be superheavy equipment that could not be reasonably dismantled. The bill would also require the Texas Transportation Commission to establish, by rule, procedures to issue annual permits and single-trip permits for transporting sealed ocean containers over a state highway if the containers are used to pack, ship, move, or transport plastic resin or paper; and the proposed movement of the containers to a port or intermodal hub does not exceed 75 miles from the loading point. 

TxDOT estimates 70 of these permits would be issued annually, which would generate approximately $140,000 in revenues to the State Highway Fund. The Comptroller of Public Accounts' Biennial Revenue Estimate for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 estimates $3.6 billion in total revenues to the State Highway Fund in each year of the biennium. It is assumed any additional revenues generated from annual and single-trip permits issued for the transport of sealed ocean containers would be used for state transportation-related expenditures.

The bill would take effect immediately upon receiving a two-thirds majority vote in both houses; otherwise, the bill would take effect September 1, 2005.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

601 Department of Transportation

LBB Staff:

JOB, SR, TG