Honorable Lyle Larson, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2376 by Walle (Relating to the fee collected for an on-site wastewater treatment permit application.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB2376, As Introduced: an impact of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2019.
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
2018
$0
2019
$0
2020
$0
2021
$0
2022
$0
Fiscal Year
Probable Revenue Gain from General Revenue Fund 1
Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Probable Revenue (Loss) from Water Resource Management 153
2018
$330,000
($330,000)
($330,000)
2019
$330,000
($330,000)
($330,000)
2020
$330,000
($330,000)
($330,000)
2021
$330,000
($330,000)
($330,000)
2022
$330,000
($330,000)
($330,000)
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend Texas Health and Safety Code, Section 367.008(b) to require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to award competitive grants to support applied research and demonstration projects regarding on-site wastewater treatment technology and systems directed toward improving the quality of wastewater treatment and reducing the cost of providing wastewater treatment to consumers, including wastewater reuse. The bill would remove the authority to conduct seminars, educational courses, and other forms of dissemination as part of the competitive grant program. The bill would amend Texas Health and Safety Code, Section 367.010(d) to require that the $10 fee collected for the processing of an on-site wastewater treatment permit application be used only for the purposes of awarding these competitive grants, and to remove language that requires the fee be deposited to the General Revenue-Dedicated Water Resource Management Account No. 153 (Account 153). Since the bill does not define where the fee would be redirected to, it is assumed that the fee would be deposited to the credit of the General Revenue Fund. The bill would amend Texas Water Code, Section 5.701(p) to remove the permit fee reference from the list of fees deposited to Account 153 that may be appropriated and used to protect water resources in the state of Texas notwithstanding any other law.
The bill would apply only to applications received by TCEQ on or after the effective date of the bill. The bill would take effect September 1, 2017.
This legislation would do one or more of the following: create or recreate a dedicated account in the General Revenue Fund, create or recreate a special or trust fund either with or outside of the Treasury, or create a dedicated revenue source. The fund, account, or revenue dedication included in this bill would be subject to funds consolidation review by the current Legislature.
Methodology
Under current law, TCEQ is permitted by Texas Water Code, Section 5.701(p) to use fee revenue from the processing of on-site wastewater treatment permit applications to protect Texas water resources; the fee revenue supports water quality activities funded from Account 153. TCEQ is not currently spending the fee revenue on competitive grants.
The Comptroller estimates that revenue collections from the permit fee would total $330,000 each fiscal year and that this amount would be redirected from Account 153 to the General Revenue Fund each fiscal year.
This analysis assumes that the full amount of revenue redirected to the General Revenue Fund from Account 153 would be used by TCEQ to award competitive grants to implement the provisions of the bill. TCEQ has indicated that administrative costs associated with managing and overseeing the grant program would still be required by Texas Health and Safety Code, Section 367.007(b) to be supported by Account 153.
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