Honorable Joseph Pickett, Chair, House Committee on Environmental Regulation
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB402 by Huberty (Relating to money used by certain counties for the low-income vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and accelerated vehicle retirement program and local initiative air quality projects.), As Introduced
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend various section of the Government and Health and Safety Code relating to the low-income vehicle repair assistance, retrofit, and accelerated retirement program (LIRAP). The bill directs the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to distribute 90 percent of the fees collected by a county with a population at least 4 million to that county. The bill would also allow the county to not provide matching funds and allow the county to decide the allocation of funds.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2017.
Local Government Impact
The bill would provide Harris County the authority to divide their allocated LIRAP funding between LIRAP's Drive A Clean Machine program and the Local Initiative Projects program at its own discretion. Under current law Harris County was allocated $17.1 million in fiscal years 2016 and 2017. According to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), if the provisions of the bill were implemented for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, Harris County would have received $14.4 million.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality