LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 82ND LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 21, 2011

TO:	Honorable Allan Ritter, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3530 by Ritter (Relating to the review and functions of the Texas Water Development Board.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would require the Office of the Attorney General to, upon request of the Water Development Board (TWDB), take legal action to compel a recipient of TWDB’s financial assistance to cure or prevent default in payment.  The bill would exempt TWDB from Data Center Services consolidation.  The bill would require TWDB and the Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), in consultation with the Water Conservation Advisory Council, to develop a uniform system for reporting municipal water use and require entities to use this methodology when submitting water conservation plans and reports to TWDB or TCEQ.  The bill would abolish the Texas Geographic Information Council and clarify the Texas Natural Resources Information System’s responsibilities related to coordinating and advancing geographic information initiatives in the state.  The bill would require TWDB, as part of the State Water Plan, to evaluate the state’s progress in meeting its future water needs and include an analysis of how many state water plan projects received its financial assistance.  The bill would establish a process whereby non-self supporting general obligation water bonds could be removed from the Constitutional Debt Limit under certain circumstances. 

There would be some costs that would need to be absorbed by the remaining agencies subject to Data Center Serves consolidation, but this is not anticipated to be a significant fiscal impact to the state.

TWDB, TCEQ, the Bond Review Board, and the Sunset Advisory Commission indicate that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed within current resources.

The bill would take effect September 1, 2011.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

116 Sunset Advisory Commission, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 313 Department of Information Resources, 352 Bond Review Board, 580 Water Development Board, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality

LBB Staff:

JOB, SZ, ZS, AH, KKR, KM