Honorable Joseph Pickett, Chair, House Committee on Environmental Regulation
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2568 by Pickett (Relating to the application of the motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program to vehicles of certain model years.), As Introduced
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined because the number of vehicles that the Commission on Environmental Quality could exempt from the existing vehicle inspection and maintenance program in a plan submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency for approval is unknown.
The bill would amend Texas Health and Safety Code by adding Section 382.2031 which would instruct the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to determine whether the federal Clean Air Act or its subsequent amendment require Texas to apply the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program to all the vehicle model years currently subject to the program under Health and Safety Code, Section 382.203. If TCEQ determined that this requirement does not exist, TCEQ would be required to develop a plan to apply the program only to vehicles from model years that TCEQ determines are likely to fail an emissions-related inspection at a rate of 5 percent or more, to provide for the revision of the state implementation plan to account for the proposed changes, and to submit this plan for approval by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If approved by the EPA, TCEQ would be required to implement the plan and submit to the legislature a list of recommended statutory changes to facilitate the implementation. The bill would take effect September 1, 2017.
TCEQ estimates that the development, proposal, and adoption of any necessary rulemaking and associated SIP revisions before submission to the EPA could be handled using existing resources. Should TCEQ determine and the EPA approve that certain vehicles should not be subject to the vehicle inspection and maintenance program under the provisions of the bill, it is assumed that there would be an indeterminate revenue loss from the exemption of those vehicles from inspection, as well as an indeterminate program savings to programs funded by the vehicle inspection and maintenance fee.
Assuming EPA approval and that implementation of provisions of bill would not lead to any violations of the Clean Air Act, no impact on Federal Funds is anticipated.
Local Government Impact
This analysis estimates that if TCEQ determined fewer vehicles should be subject to the inspection and maintenance program, there would be an indeterminate fiscal impact on the funding to counties from the Low-Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program (LIRAP) and the Local Initiative Projects (LIP) program.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality