| TO: | Honorable Royce West, Chair, Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1861 by Ellis (Relating to certain programs and pilot programs administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.), As Introduced |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2010 | ($2,000,000) |
| 2011 | ($2,000,000) |
| 2012 | ($2,000,000) |
| 2013 | ($1,000,000) |
| 2014 | ($1,000,000) |
| Fiscal Year | Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1 |
|---|---|
| 2010 | ($2,000,000) |
| 2011 | ($2,000,000) |
| 2012 | ($2,000,000) |
| 2013 | ($1,000,000) |
| 2014 | ($1,000,000) |
The bill would amend the Government Code relating to certain programs and pilot programs administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). The bill would direct TDHCA to establish a program that provides financial assistance for residential weatherization measures that do not qualify for the state's allocation of Federal Funds under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Weatherization Assistance Progroam (WAP), or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.
The bill would direct TDHCA to work with the State Energy Conservation Office and the Energy Systems Laboratory at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station of the Texas A&M University System to identify cost-effective residential weatherization measures that allow persons to qualify for LIHEAP.
The bill would also allow TDHCA to establish a pilot program to study the effectiveness of weatherization measures for increasing energy efficiency for individuals and families of low income, and report the findings by December 1, 2010.
This bill would take effect September 1, 2009.
To develop this estimate, TDHCA surveyed eight WAP sub-recipients to determine the level of existing need for supplemental assistance as described in the bill. Based on this survey, the following assumptions were made: 5 percent of homes served through WAP would receive supplemental assistance; since the most common reason a house cannot be served is that the roof needs to be replaced, repairs funded would primarily be related to roof repair; roof repairs are typically about $5,000 per household. Based on these assumptions, TDHCA would limit supplemental assistance to $2,000 per home for fiscal years 2010-2012 and increase this to $5,000 per year from fiscal year 2013 forward.
Grant costs were therefore estimated as follows: Annual households served through federal Weatherization Assistance Program, fiscal years 2010-2012 calculated at 20,000 households per year X 5% = 1,000 homes X $2,000 per home = $2 million per year. For fiscal years 2013-2014, calculated at 4,000 household per year X 5% = 200 homes X $5,000 per home = $1 million per year.
TDHCA also assumed that the program would be implemented using an existing online contract reporting system and that additional state administration would be minimal.
It is assumed that the Texas Engineering Experiment Station and the State Energy Conservation Office could absorb the costs associated with the bill within current resources.
| Source Agencies: | 332 Department of Housing and Community Affairs, 712 Texas Engineering Experiment Station
|
| LBB Staff: | JOB, DB, MW, NV
|