LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 80TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 25, 2007

TO:	Honorable Mike Krusee, Chair, House Committee on Transportation
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB2908 by Gattis (Relating to the impoundment of a motor vehicle if operated without financial responsibility or a driver's license.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would add Section 601.0535 to Chapter 601 of the Transportation Code to authorize a law enforcement officer to impound a motor vehicle if the operator does not have proof of financial responsibility and fails to display a driver's license. The bill provides requirements for the impounding officer and their agency and the paperwork they must provide the operator or owner of the vehicle and lists the conditions under which the impounding agency may release the vehicle to the owner and or operator.

 

The bill would take effect September 1, 2007 and would apply only to an offense committed on or before that date.

 

Based on information provided by the Department of Public Safety, it is anticipated that costs associated with implementing provisions of the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

The fiscal impact on municipal police departments and county sheriffs' offices would vary depending on the number of violations that occur and whether the peace officer chooses to impound the vehicle, as well as current practices.

 

Dallas County (2000 U.S. census population of over 2.2 million) reports that the sheriff's office already has a policy of having vehicles towed if the driver is unable to provide a license. The county does not, therefore, anticipate any fiscal impact as a result of passage of the bill.

 

Harris County (population of over 3.4 million) estimates that based on the approximately 45,000 applicable citations written annually, if the county sheriff's office were to impound in each case, the sheriff's office would have to add 11 new deputies (because of increased use of deputy time per violation resulting in a tow) and 6 new clerks (to enter the data, process the releases, and write the reports) at a cost of close to $1.2 million in fiscal year 2008, increasing up to $1.3 million by fiscal year 2012. The county sheriff's office received less than $180,000 in revenue in the 2006-07 biennium for handling 43,000 impounded and auctioned vehicles. The county anticipates that under the provisions of the bill, there would be revenue gains of $56,300 annually, which would not come close to offsetting costs of new staff. However, it is assumed that the county would use towing authority within budget constraints.

 

The Nueces County (population of 313,645) Sheriff's Office does not anticipate any fiscal impact from passage of the bill.

Source Agencies:

405 Department of Public Safety

LBB Staff:

JOB, KJG, DB