HBA-BSM C.S.H.B. 3074 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3074 By: Chisum Natural Resources 4/19/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) is required to establish and collect a permit fee to cover the cost of issuing permits for on-site sewage facilities. However, the TNRCC has proposed collecting an additional mandatory fee from local governmental entities for inspection of such facilities. C.S.H.B. 3074 authorizes the TNRCC to assess a charge-back fee to a local governmental entity not to exceed $500 for permitting functions not covered by the permit fees collected and sets forth provisions for the application of such a fee. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 3074 amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to assess a charge-back fee not to exceed $500 to a local governmental entity for which the TNRCC issues permits for administrative costs relating to the permitting function that are not covered by the permit fees collected. The bill requires TNRCC to base the amount of a charge-back fee on the actual cost of issuing a permit. TNRCC is authorized to assess a charge-back fee to a local governmental entity if the entity is an authorized agent that has repealed the order, ordinance, or resolution that established the entity as an authorized agent or has had its authorization as an authorized agent revoked by TNRCC. The bill prohibits TNRCC from assessing a charge-back fee to a local governmental entity if the entity has repealed the order, ordinance, or resolution that established the entity as an authorized agent or has lost its designation as an authorization due to a material change in TNRCC's rules. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 3074 differs from the original by authorizing the TNRCC to establish a maximum charge-back fee of $500 to a local governmental entity for permitting functions not covered by the permit fees collected, whereas the original bill provided that TNRCC may assess a charge-back fee upon agreement of the entity. The substitute differs from the original by requiring the TNRCC to base the amount of the chargeback fee on the actual cost of issuing a permit. The substitute also differs from the original bill by establishing provisions for when such a fee may or may not be assessed.