TO:	Honorable John Otto, Chair, House Committee on Appropriations
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB300 by Gonzales, Larry (Relating to the allocation to the Parks and Wildlife Department of the proceeds from taxes imposed on the sale, storage, or use of sporting goods.), As Introduced

The bill would amend portions of the Parks and Wildlife Code relating to the allocation of Sporting Goods Sales Tax (SGST) revenues.  In the 2016-17 biennium, the Comptroller of Public Accounts estimates amounts available to the Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) from this source to total $261.1 million.  Under current law, TPWD can receive up to 94 percent of all SGST allocated as follows for 2016-17:

1)     74 percent to the State Parks Account No. 64 ($193.2 million);

2)     15 percent to the Texas Recreation and Parks Account No. 467 ($39.2 million);

3)     10 percent to the Large County and Municipality Recreation and Parks Account No. 5150 ($26.1 million); and

4)     1 percent to the Conservation and Capital Account No. 5004 ($2.6 million).

The bill would remove the current statutory allocations to the above General Revenue-Dedicated accounts and would instead limit the revenue transferred to each account to an amount not to exceed total SGST revenue available.  The distribution between the accounts would be subject to appropriations. 

The bill would maximize the Legislature's discretion in determining how to allocate revenue among agency accounts to align with Legislative priorities.  The overall amount of Sporting Goods Sales Tax available to be appropriated each fiscal year would continue to be determined by the amount estimated in the Comptroller's Biennial Revenue Estimate.

Local Government Impact

The fiscal implications of the bill to local units of government cannot be determined at this time because the amount of SGST available for local parks grants would be subject to appropriations.