LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 82ND LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 2, 2011

TO:	Honorable Steve Ogden, Chair, Senate Committee on Finance
FROM:	John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB1179 by Nelson (Relating to the elimination of certain required reports prepared by state agencies and institutions of higher education.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend multiple statutes to eliminate certain required reports prepared by state agencies and institutions of higher education that are currently filed with the office of the governor, the presiding officer of each house of the legislature, the comptroller, or other state entities.
 
Section 1 through Section 16 of the bill amends the Agriculture, Education, Government, Human Resources, Insurance, Natural Resources and Transportation Codes to repeal various reporting requirements of applicable state agencies.
 
Section 17 of the bill would repeal 146 additional provisions in Texas statute requiring the filing of various reports. Many of the reports recommended for repeal pertain to the Funds Received and Disbursed Report, which has been superseded by the Annual Financial Report. Other reports listed for repeal are reports currently listed in statute that have expired by their own terms, reports whose due date has expired, or reports required of abolished agencies.

This bill would have a positive but not significant fiscal impact to the state. As the process each agency uses to produce its statutorily required reports is unique, quantifying the staff time saved, printing costs, and storage costs saved by eliminating unnecessary reports cannot be quantified.  Eliminating reports assessed as unnecessary is unlikely to lead to reductions in staff, but eliminating superfluous reporting requirements would enable an increase in agency productivity.
 
The bill would take effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all members of each house. If it does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, the bill would take effect September 1, 2011.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

301 Office of the Governor, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 303 Facilities Commission, 305 General Land Office and Veterans' Land Board, 313 Department of Information Resources, 320 Texas Workforce Commission, 325 Fire Fighters' Pension Commissioner, 332 Department of Housing and Community Affairs, 347 Public Finance Authority, 352 Bond Review Board, 407 Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, 409 Commission on Jail Standards, 454 Department of Insurance, 457 Board of Public Accountancy, 458 Alcoholic Beverage Commission, 460 Board of Professional Engineers, 476 Racing Commission, 507 Texas Board of Nursing, 512 Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners, 513 Funeral Service Commission, 514 Optometry Board, 515 Board of Pharmacy, 520 Board of Examiners of Psychologists, 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of, 533 Executive Council of Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Examiners, 537 State Health Services, Department of, 538 Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, Department of, 551 Department of Agriculture, 556 Texas AgriLife Research, 592 Soil and Water Conservation Board, 665 Juvenile Probation Commission, 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 697 Board of Pardons and Paroles, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 802 Parks and Wildlife Department, 808 Historical Commission, 809 Preservation Board, 813 Commission on the Arts, 306 Library & Archives Commission, 338 Pension Review Board, 403 Veterans Commission, 475 Office of Public Utility Counsel, 503 Texas Medical Board, 539 Aging and Disability Services, Department of, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality, 601 Department of Transportation, 694 Youth Commission, 701 Central Education Agency, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board

LBB Staff:

JOB, PM, KM, JI