Honorable Drew Springer, Chair, House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2155 by Guerra (Relating to a grant program to reduce wait times for agricultural inspections of vehicles at ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB2155, As Introduced: a positive impact of $725,000 through the biennium ending August 31, 2021.
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
2020
$725,000
2021
$0
2022
$0
2023
$0
2024
$0
Fiscal Year
Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2020
$725,000
2021
$0
2022
$0
2023
$0
2024
$0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Agriculture Code to allow the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) to make a grant to a non-profit organization of up to $725,000, using either funds appropriated for this purpose or funds received as a gift, grant or donation, for the purpose of reducing wait times for agricultural inspections of vehicles along the Texas-Mexico border.
TDA would be directed to request grant proposals and to assess the proposals based on the proposed program's quantifiable effectiveness. The grant would be required to be awarded to an organization with experience working with border inspection authorities to reduce wait times for border crossing and the grant recipient would be required to provide matching funds. TDA would be required to enter into a contract with the grant recipient that enables TDA to recoup grant funding if the grant recipient fails to comply with the terms of the contract. TDA would be required to evaluate the performance of the program and to submit a report to the Legislature no later than January 15, 2021.
Unless continued in existence by the Legislature, TDA's authority to issue this grant would expire on September 1, 2021. The bill would take effect September 1, 2019.
Methodology
For the purpose of this analysis, it is assumed that TDA would need $725,000 in General Revenue to issue a grant and would issue that grant in fiscal year 2020. Based on information provided by TDA, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill, apart from the cost of the funds to be granted, could be accomplished with existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.