LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 81ST LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

May 7, 2009

TO:	Honorable Dennis Bonnen, Chair, House Committee on Land & Resource Management
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4175 by Bolton (Relating to authorizing certain counties to adopt buffer zone regulations and comprehensive land development plans; providing a penalty.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would add Chapter 236 to the Local Government Code to authorize regulation of land development in certain counties and would authorize imposition of penalties for violations.

Local Government Impact

Based on the applicability criteria within the bill, it would affect five counties: Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, and Travis.

Bexar County indicated that the fiscal impact would depend on the regulations that would be determined and the number of violations that might occur.

Dallas County reported that the only new costs would be to have a comprehensive plan done for the unincorporated areas if the county were to choose to implement provisions of the bill. The county estimates a plan might cost between $30,000 and $75,000.

Harris County estimates that if the county were to implement the provisions of the bill, there could be an increase in the county's administrative costs in the Public Infrastructure Department of not more than $220,000 annually in the first two years of implementation, with small inflationary increases each year thereafter.

Tarrant County assumed that if the county decided to implement the provisions of the bill any fiscal impact would not be significant.

Source Agencies:

LBB Staff:

JOB, SZ, DB, SD