Honorable Kip Averitt, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1924 by Gallegos (Relating to the establishment of an air pollutant watch list and associated reports for the purpose of controlling the emissions of air contaminants under the Texas Clean Air Act.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to establish and maintain an Air Pollutant Watch List. The bill would require the TCEQ to hold public meetings and submit an electronic report regarding the watch list to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. The bill also would exempt the watch list from rulemaking requirements, and it would require TCEQ to publish ambient air quality data collected from mobile or stationary ambient air quality monitors on the agency’s website.
The TCEQ expects that the bill's passage would result in the agency needing to contract with a programmer to automate the processing of non-continuous monitoring data and its upload to the agency’s external website. Programming costs are estimated to be $100,000 in fiscal year 2008. This estimate assume that such costs could be absorbed within existing agency appropriations out of the General Revenue-Dedicated Clean Air Account No. 151.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.