| TO: | Honorable Kenneth Armbrister, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB804 by Averitt (Relating to the liability of license deputies for sales money held in trust for the Parks and Wildlife Department.), As Introduced |
The bill would designate funds collected for licenses, permits and stamps by license deputies as funds held in trust by such deputies on behalf of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). License deputies would be liable for the full amount of sales, less the sales commission, until such funds are transferred to the State Treasury. If the license deputy is not an individual, each officer, director, or owner of the license deputy would be personally liable to the department for the full amount of money held in trust.
Currently, license deputies (primarily retail outlets that sale sporting goods) sell TPWD hunting and fishing licenses and stamps, retain a 5 percent commission, and all remaining sales receipts are swept to the State Treasury on a weekly basis. To the extent that interest income that would otherwise accrue to the State Treasury is not collected, the current practice of transferring funds on a weekly basis impacts revenue collections. However, this bill if adopted, would have no significant impact on agency operations or revenue collections.
| Source Agencies: | 802 Parks and Wildlife Department
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, WK, ZS, TB
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