Honorable Troy Fraser, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2615 by Johnson (Relating to reporting and information availability requirements for persons impounding, diverting, or otherwise using state water; providing a penalty.), As Engrossed
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would set a penalty of $1,000 for each day a person fails to file a statement or comply with the request of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for water use data relating to water rights after the applicable deadline. The agency's executive director would establish a deadline by which a person must provide the information being requested. The maximum penalty which could be assessed would be $15,000.
The deadline of March 1 and the other penalty references have been removed.
Penalties associated with failure to comply with TCEQ water rights reporting requirements would be deposited to the General Revenue Fund. Although passage of the bill could result in increased penalty revenues, this estimate assumes that the per-day penalty rate would serve as an incentive for compliance. Thus, no significant revenue increase to the state is expected. Passage of the bill is not expected to result in significant costs to the TCEQ.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality