Honorable Dustin Burrows, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB647 by Patterson (Relating to the removal of certain restrictions imposed on driver's licenses; authorizing a fee.), As Passed 2nd House
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB647, As Passed 2nd House: a negative impact of ($1,716,750) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.
The Department of Public Safety is required to implement a provision of the bill only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the Department of Public Safety may, but is not required to, implement a provision of the bill using other appropriations available for that 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
($1,635,000)
2027
($81,750)
2028
($81,750)
2029
($81,750)
2030
($81,750)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2026
($1,635,000)
2027
($81,750)
2028
($81,750)
2029
($81,750)
2030
($81,750)
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would require the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to remove certain restrictions imposed on driver's licenses if certain conditions are met. The bill would also direct DPS to establish a process for electronic form and fee submission.
Methodology
The Department of Information Resources (DIR) provided DPS with an estimate of $1,635,000 in fiscal year 2026 to expand portal submission functionality to the Texas.gov website. The fiscal impact to DIR for software, application maintenance, and infrastructure costs would be $81,750 in fiscal year 2027.
Technology
According to DIR, application development within Texas.gov has an estimated cost of $1,635,000 in fiscal year 2026, and ongoing infrastructure and maintenance costs of $81,750 each year thereafter.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 313 Department of Information Resources, 405 Department of Public Safety