LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 83RD LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
March 12, 2013

TO:
Honorable Dennis Bonnen, Chair, House Committee On Special Purpose Districts
 
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB1642 by Bonnen, Dennis (Relating to the Port of Houston Authority; creating an offense.), As Introduced



Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1642, As Introduced: an impact of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2015.

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.



Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2014 $0
2015 $0
2016 ($216,084)
2017 ($24,009)
2018 $0




Fiscal Year Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from
Appropriated Receipts
666 		Probable (Cost) from
General Revenue Fund
1
2014 $0 $0
2015 $0 $0
2016 $216,084 ($216,084)
2017 $24,009 ($24,009)
2018 $0 $0

Fiscal Analysis

This bill would implement recommendations from the Sunset Advisory Commission's (SAC) review of the Port of Houston Authority (PoHA). There would be no significant cost to the state to implement these recommendations; however, there would be a cost to PoHA. The bill would require SAC to conduct another review of PoHA during the 2016-17 biennium and would require PoHA to pay for the cost of the review. The bill would also require the Governor to appoint a port commission, and PoHA commissioners to file a statement required of state officers with the Texas Ethics Commission.


Methodology

The cost of the review that the bill would require in 2016-17 is based on the actual cost incurred to conduct the SAC review of PoHA in 2011-12. The cost of this review would be $216,084 in fiscal year 2016 and $24,009 in fiscal year 2017. This cost includes staff salaries and benefits, travel costs, and other administrative expenses.

The Governor already appoints various commissions, therefore, based on LBB's analysis of the Office of the Governor, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished using existing resources. The Texas Ethics Commission already maintains statements required of state officers and indicates there would be no fiscal implication associated with implementing provisions of the bill.


Local Government Impact

PoHA would be required to reimburse the SAC for costs associated with the review. This cost is estimated to be $216,084 in fiscal year 2016 and $24,009 in fiscal year 2017, according to SAC.

The bill would eliminate current requirements of the Harris County Auditor, which SAC estimates would save PoHA approximately $140,000 per year based on 2013 expenditures. The bill would set forth that the Harris County Auditor could conduct occassional financial audits of PoHA as part of the county-wide risk assessment and audit plan. According to SAC, the fiscal impact of this would depend on rates established by PoHA and the Harris County Auditor as well as the scope and number of audits performed.

The bill would require PoHA to establish an internal audit department and develop various policies and plans. PoHA has already established an internal audit department and has existing staff that could implement requirements to develop the various policies and plans. SAC indicates that any additional cost to PoHA would depend on the way PoHA chooses to implement these provisions and cannot be estimated. Additionally, any savings resulting from the internal audit or changes to policy as required by the bill would depend on implementation and cannot be estimated at this time.



Source Agencies:
116 Sunset Advisory Commission, 356 Texas Ethics Commission
LBB Staff:
UP, JI, MMe, KK, TP