| TO: | Honorable Kenneth Armbrister, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB564 by Barrientos (Relating to the establishment of a program for the disposition of electronic equipment in a manner that protects the water and other natural resources of the state; providing a criminal penalty.), As Introduced |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2006 | ($4,403,042) |
| 2007 | ($4,332,175) |
| 2008 | ($4,332,175) |
| 2009 | ($4,332,175) |
| 2010 | ($4,332,175) |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 |
Probable Savings/(Cost) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | $974,140 | ($5,377,182) | 22.0 |
| 2007 | $822,757 | ($5,154,932) | 22.0 |
| 2008 | $822,757 | ($5,154,932) | 22.0 |
| 2009 | $822,757 | ($5,154,932) | 22.0 |
| 2010 | $822,757 | ($5,154,932) | 22.0 |
The bill would require producers of electronic equipment to prepare plans for approval by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for financing the collection, treatment, recovery, reuse, recycling, and disposition of electronic equipment. Electronic equipment would include computer equipment, video equipment, telecommunications equipment, electronic devices, appliances, audio equipment, and toys and games. Producers of electronic equipment would be prohibited from selling equipment in this state without a plan approved by the TCEQ. The TCEQ would be authorized to assess a fee to producers of electronic equipment to cover the cost of plan review. Producers also would be required to submit an annual report to the TCEQ, which the agency would have 180 days to review.
The bill would require each state agency to adopt policies requiring vendors of electronic equipment sold or leased to the state to reclaim the equipment when it becomes waste and establish a preference for purchasing and leasing of electronic equipment meeting environmental performance standards relating to the reduction or elimination of hazardous materials.
It is estimated that creating an electronic equipment waste disposition would require an additional 22 FTEs at the TCEQ to review plans submitted by electronic waste producers, review annual reports, conduct compliance investigations, and verify financial assurance. This estimate assumes that the TCEQ would set fees sufficient to cover the cost of plan review and annual report review to be deposited to the credit of the General Revenue Fund. As shown above, these amounts are estimated to be $974,140 in fiscal year 2006 and $822,757 in subsequest years. Costs for the agency performing investigations would not be covered through fee revenues, since the bill does not provide for such cost recovery. Costs associated with investigations are estimated at $456,806 in fiscal year 2006 and $385,939 in subsequent fiscal years.
Based on data from the Building and Procurement Commission, it is estimated that the bill would result in an increase in costs to state agencies for acquiring electronic equipment of 5 to 7 percent. Included in the cost estimate shown in the table above are costs of $3,946,236 each fiscal year. This is calculated at 5 percent of statewide annual computer and laptop leasing and purchasing of $78.9 million, based on 2006-07 expenditures reported by state agencies in their Legislative Appropriations Requests for the 2006-07 biennium. This estimate does not include costs for purchases by state agencies of items such as video equipment, telecommunications equipment, appliances, etc. As a result, the actual cost of implementing the bill may be substantially higher than the amounts shown above.
| Source Agencies: | 303 Building and Procurement Commission, 313 Department of Information Resources, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, WK, ZS, TL, RC, KJG
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