Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4102 by Neave (Relating to establishing and funding a grant program for testing evidence collected in relation to sexual assaults or other sex offenses; authorizing voluntary contributions.), As Passed 2nd House
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend multiple codes relating to establishing and funding a grant program for testing evidence collected in relation to sexual assaults or other sex offenses, and a grant program to combat homelessness.
The bill would require the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) to provide the opportunity to contribute to the evidence testing grant program and the Ending Homelessness Fund when a person registers or renews the registration of a motor vehicle. The bill would create the new General Revenue-Dedicated Evidence Testing Account to be appropriated to the Criminal Justice Division (CJD) in the Trusteed Programs Within the Office of the Governor, and the bill would create the Ending Homelessness Fund as a trust fund held by the Comptroller outside the State Treasury and administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). The bill would require county tax assessor-collectors to send deposits of any contributions to the Comptroller for deposit in the funds. The bill allows the TxDMV to deduct reasonable administrative expenses prior to transferring certain contributions.
The bill would require the CJD to establish and administer a grant program using the contributions collected during the vehicle registration process to assist certain law enforcement agencies with testing evidence collected for sexual assault or other sex offenses. The bill would restrict the use of grant funds to testing at certain labs for evidence related to certain crimes. The bill would require the CJD to establish criteria related to grant applications and awards, and would require certain reporting in the CJD's biennial report. The bill would require money in the Ending Homelessness Fund to be used to provide grants to counties and municipalities to combat homelessness. The bill would require TDHCA to adopt rules governing the application for and issuance of those grants.
Based on LBB's analysis of information provided by TxDMV, it is assumed costs and duties associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be absorbed within the agency's existing resources. The Office of the Governor and TDHCA indicate they could absorb the costs of administering the grant program within each agency's existing resources.
The bill 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 the bill would be subject to funds consolidation review by the current Legislature.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2017.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
300 Trusteed Programs Within the Office of the Governor, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety, 608 Department of Motor Vehicles