LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 83RD LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

May 1, 2013

TO:	Honorable Tracy O. King, Chair, House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB1825 by González, Mary (Relating to the sale or transportation of certain desert plants; creating an offense and providing penalties; providing authority to impose a fee.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend the Agriculture Code relating to the sale or transportation of certain desert plants and would require the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) to adopt rules necessary to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill would require persons engaged in the sale or transportation of certain desert plants to register with TDA and enter into a compliance agreement. Under provisions of the bill, TDA could assess a registration and compliance agreement fee. Finally, the bill provides for a penalty should a person commit an offense as defined by the bill.

According to both the Comptroller of Public Accounts and TDA, the number of persons that would be required to register with the agency under provisions of the bill is unknown and potential fee revenue cannot be estimated at this time. Additionally, revenues from penalties provided by the bill cannot be determined. TDA indicated minimal startup costs for fiscal year 2014 to implement provisions of the bill. This estimate assumes the agency could absorb these costs within existing resources, and no significant fiscal impact to the state is anticipated.

Local Government Impact

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

Source Agencies:

304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 551 Department of Agriculture

LBB Staff:

UP, SZ, JP