| TO: | Honorable Eddie Lucio, Jr., Chair, Senate Committee on International Relations & Trade |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB99 by Zaffirini (Relating to the identification of and provision of assistance to colonias and for tracking the progress of certain state-funded projects that benefit colonias.), As Introduced |
The bill would require the Secretary of State to compile information received from the Office of Rural Community Affairs, the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the Department of State Health Services, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to maintain the classification system used to track state-funded projects related to water/wastewater services or paved roads to colonias.
The bill would require the Secretary of State with the assistance of the Office of the Attorney General to report information tracked by the classification system to the presiding officer of each house of the legislature in even-number years, if funds are appropriated specifically for the purpose of preparing and submitting the report.
The bill would require that institutions of higher education that have a program in the area of community, rural, or urban development shall create partnerships with governmental agencies and counties to implement programs, policies, and strategies to develop alternative technologies to assist colonias that have inadequate water or sewer systems.
The Secretary of State estimates that the total amount to contract to compile and analyze the data and to write and prepare the report is $12,000 in fiscal year 2008 and $6,000 in fiscal year 2009 and each year thereafter.
It is anticipated that any costs related to implementing the provisions of the bill could be absorbed by existing resources.
It is assumed that a county would partner with an institution of higher education to implement programs, policies, and strategies to develop alternative technologies to assist colonias that have inadequate water or sewer systems only if sufficient funds were available.
There would be no significant fiscal impact to a political subdivision to submit demographic information to an institution of higher education as outlined in Section 10 of the bill.
| Source Agencies: | 302 Office of the Attorney General, 307 Secretary of State, 332 Department of Housing and Community Affairs, 357 Office of Rural Community Affairs, 537 State Health Services, Department of, 580 Water Development Board, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality, 601 Department of Transportation, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board
|
| LBB Staff: | JOB, CL, MS, EP, KJG
|