Honorable Craig Estes, Chair, Senate Committee on S/C on Ag., Rural Affairs & Coastal Resources
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1838 by Averitt (Relating to equipment used for irrigation systems.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would establish minimum standards for irrigation systems owned by the state or a political subdivision of the state. The bill would add definitions applying to irrigation systems, require political subdivisions to adopt ordinances regarding minimum standards for irrigation system equipment, and establish deadlines for the state and political subdivisions to demonstrate compliance with the standards set forth in the bill. Specifically the bill would require ordinances for qualifying irrigations systems to require an on-site or a remote evaportranspiration controller, an independent local rain and freeze shut-off device, and an irrigation schedule controller that includes features to prevent irrigation runoff. The bill would also specify under which circumstances some irrigation systems would be exempt from complying with the proposed requirements and specifies that after January 1, 2011 irrigation systems sold or installed in the state must have on-site evaportranspiration controllers.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) expects that it would receive inquires from the 254 county governments, over 1,000 municipal governments, and over 2,000 special districts affected by the bill. In addition, if adequate ordinances would not adopted by a number of political subdivisions, the agency might require additional field office staff to perform inspections and ensure compliance with the proposed legislation. However, this estimate assumes that any such resource requirements would not be significant to the agency.
Local Government Impact
Local governments would be required to adopt ordinances as specified by the bill. Local governments that would be required to retrofit landscaping irrigation systems with evapotranspiration controllers could incur costs associated with retrofitting irrigation systems. The TCEQ estimates such costs to range from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on the size of a system.