Honorable Cole Hefner, Chair, House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB41 by Hefner (relating to the acquisition or use of certain foreign equipment or services by a governmental entity.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB41, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($532,700) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027. There would be an additional indeterminate cost related to the grant program authorized by the bill which would be dependent on the number of grant applications and appropriations made for this purpose.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2026
($270,134)
2027
($262,566)
2028
($270,134)
2029
($262,566)
2030
($270,134)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2025
2026
($270,134)
2.0
2027
($262,566)
2.0
2028
($270,134)
2.0
2029
($262,566)
2.0
2030
($270,134)
2.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Government Code to restrict use or acquisition of certain foreign unmanned aircraft or equipment. The bill would also establish the Law Enforcement Secure Unmanned Aircraft Grant Program (program). The program would be administered by the Office of the Governor (OOG) to provide grants to law enforcement agencies for the replacement of certain unmanned aircraft. The bill would direct the program to expire on the second anniversary of the date all funding appropriated for the program is expended.
The bill would also direct the Department of Information Resources (DIR) to create a model security plan for certain technologies and make the plan available to governmental entities.
Methodology
It is anticipated the OOG will need an additional 2.0 FTEs to support the Law Enforcement Secure Unmanned Aircraft Grant Program: one Grant Specialist III and one Auditor III. The total estimate for FTE-related costs, including travel and other operating expenses, is anticipated to be $532,700 for the 2026-27 biennium.
According to DIR, any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) indicates a cost of $14,044,800 over a five-year period for the replacement of unmanned aircraft to comply with the provisions of the bill. This analysis assumes DPS and other impacted state agencies operating unmanned aircraft fleets may receive an indeterminate amount of grant funding through the program.
Technology
No technology impact is anticipated.
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, 313 Department of Information Resources, 401 Military Department, 405 Department of Public Safety