HBA-RBT S.B. 674 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 674
By: Moncrief
Ways & Means
4/27/1999
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, information prepared by the Legislative Budget Board and the
comptroller of public accounts indicates that the Board of Tax Professional
Examiners (board) has not been able to comply with appropriations act
requirements that revenue generated by the agency cover its direct and
indirect costs. The latest estimates indicate that the board will fall
short approximately $24,600 in covering these costs in the next biennium.
The board is statutorily limited to charging $35 in annual fees to those it
regulates, but has been charging $45 per person via appropriations
authorization. S.B. 674 requires registrants to pay the Board of Tax
Professional Examiners an annual fee not to exceed $55.  This bill
regulates the administration of examinations and the fees charged by the
Board of Tax Professional Examiners.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 13, Article 8885, V.T.C.S., to require
registrants to pay the Board of Tax Professional Examiners (board) an
annual fee not to exceed $55, rather than $35.  

SECTION 2.  Amends Article 8885, V.T.C.S., by adding Section 14A, as
follows:  

Sec. 14A. Requires all examination applications filed with the board to be
made on printed forms provided by the board, and prohibits an application
otherwise from being accepted. Requires the board, in prescribing the
contents of the application forms, to ensure that each form requires
sufficient information to determine an applicant's current classification.
Requires all examination applications to be accompanied by the appropriate
examination fee, which is required to be retained by the board without
regard to the disposition of the examination results. Requires the
examination fee to be set by the board. Requires examination applications
to be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the examination date.  

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.