COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

OVERSIGHT DIVISION


FISCAL NOTE

 

L.R. No.:         0043-03

Bill No.:          SB 17

Subject:           Motor Vehicles; Highway Patrol; Buses; Law Enforcement Officers and Agencies; Roads and Highways

Type:              Original

Date:               February 13, 2007




 

Bill Summary:            This proposal repeals the state safety inspection (except for the St. Louis Metropolitan area) and institutes primary enforcement of the seat belt law.


FISCAL SUMMARY


ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON GENERAL REVENUE FUND

FUND AFFECTED

FY 2009

FY 2009

FY 2010

General Revenue

($3,032)

Unknown

Unknown

Total Estimated

Net Effect on

General Revenue

Fund

($3,032)

Unknown

Unknown


ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON OTHER STATE FUNDS

FUND AFFECTED

FY 2008

FY 2009

FY 2010

State School Moneys

$0

$0

$0

Highway 

($1,139,000)

($2,278,000)

($2,278,000)

Highway Patrol Inspection *

($561,000)

($1,122,000)

($1,122,000)

Total Estimated

Net Effect on Other

State Funds

($1,700,000)

($3,400,000)

($3,400,000)

* Note: The unappropriated/unspent balance of the Highway Patrol Inspection fund is transferred to the Road fund every two years.

Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.

This fiscal note contains 8 pages.



ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON FEDERAL FUNDS

FUND AFFECTED

FY 2008

FY 2009

FY 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Estimated

Net Effect on All

Federal Funds

$0

$0

$0



ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON FULL TIME EQUIVALENT (FTE)

FUND AFFECTED

FY 2008

FY 2009

FY 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Estimated

Net Effect on

FTE

0

0

0


Estimated Total Net Effect on All funds expected to exceed $100,000 savings or (cost).


Estimated Net Effect on General Revenue Fund expected to exceed $100,000 (cost).


ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON LOCAL FUNDS

FUND AFFECTED

FY 2008

FY 2009

FY 2010


Local Government


Unknown

Unknown to (Unknown)

Unknown to (Unknown)








FISCAL ANALYSIS


ASSUMPTION


Officials from the Department of Public Safety - Missouri Highway Patrol (MHP) state approximately $4.5 million is deposited into state funds (Highway and Highway Patrol Inspection Funds) from the sale of 3 million safety inspection stickers and 4,500 station license fees. This proposal will reduce the number of safety inspections to approximately 750,000 and licensed inspection stations to approximately 900. As a result of these decreases, total state revenue will be reduced to approximately $1.13 million, a loss of approximately $3.4 million.


33 percent of the revenue is deposited into the Highway Patrol Inspection Fund and 67 percent is deposited into the Highway Fund. Therefore, the MHP assumes a net loss of $1,122,000 ($3.4 million x 33%) to the Highway Patrol Inspection Fund and $2,278,000 ($3.4 million x 67%) to the Highway Fund each year.


Since there is no appropriation that allows the Patrol to spend all of the 33% in the Highway Patrol Inspection Fund, the balance is transferred every two years to the Road Fund.


Officials from the Department of Transportation (MoDOT) state the portion of the bill related to primary enforcement of Missouri’s safety belt law would qualify the state to receive a Section 405 incentive grant pursuant to SAFETEA-LU. A state must meet at least 4 of 6 criteria in order to qualify for a grant. Missouri currently meets 3 of the criteria; passage of a primary belt law would put us at the needed 4 criteria. Each state that qualifies for a grant receives up to 100 percent of its FY 2003 Section 402 apportionment (Missouri’s FY ’03 apportionment was $3.4 million). This grant would be administered by the Highway Safety division to be utilized for behavioral highway safety programs.


MoDOT will lose approximately $4.4 million annually if the inspection fee is eliminated. We received $3 million directly each year and $2.8 million biennially from the Highway Patrol Inspection Fund.


MoDOT assumes the department would continue to received money from the inspections that will still be carried out in the St. Louis area. MoDOT estimates FY 08 $1,637,597, FY 09 $847,033 & FY 10 $1,637,597. These numbers are based on information from the Dept. of Revenue.







ASSUMPTION (continued)


Oversight assumes the issuance of the federal grant is speculative and therefore have not reflected it in the fiscal note.


Officials from the Department of Revenue (DOR) state they will need to:

          Revise policies and procedures, titling manuals, etc (electronically) regarding elimination of the safety inspection program in all areas of the state excluding the emissions areas;

 

          Notify all dealers at a cost of $3,032, about the elimination of the safety inspection requirements in all areas of the state excluding the St. Louis Metropolitan area/emissions area. Related funding is requested.


OA-INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - DOR


Due to the Statewide Information Technology Consolidation, DOR’s response to a proposal will now also reflect the cost estimates prepared by OA-IT for impact to the various systems. As a result, the impact shown may not be the same as previous fiscal notes submitted. In addition, if the legislation is Truly Agreed to and Finally Passed the OA-IT costs shown will be requested through appropriations by OA-IT.


Office of Administration Information Technology (ITSD DOR) estimates that this legislation could be implemented utilizing existing resources of 3 existing CIT III's for 1 month at a rate of $4,186. However, if priorities shift and additional FTE/overtime would be needed to implement, the cost will be approximately $12,558. They plan to use existing resources to implement this legislation.


Officials from the Office of the State Public Defender (SPD) state while the number of new cases (or cases with increased penalties) may be too few or uncertain to request additional funding for this specific bill, the Office of State Public Defender will continue to request sufficient appropriations to provide competent and effective representation is all its cases.


Officials from the Office of Prosecution Services (OPS) assume this proposal would not have a significant direct fiscal impact on county prosecutors or OPS.


Officials from the Office of the State Courts Administrator (CTS) state depending on the degree of enforcement, there could be a significant increase in the number of cases filed. However, CTS as no way of estimating the increase. Any significant increase would be reflected in future budget requests.

 



ASSUMPTION (continued)

 

Officials from the Springfield Police Department estimate the revenues for primary seat belt enforcement to be $300 annually, and the officer and court costs to issue and process seat belt citations to be $8,000 annually.


Officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) state there is no state cost to the foundation formula associated with this proposal. Should the new crimes and amendments to current law result in additional fines or penalties, DESE cannot know how much additional money might be collected by local governments or the DOR to distribute to schools. To the extent fine revenues exceed 2004-2005 collections, any increase in this money distributed to schools increases the deduction in the foundation formula the following year. Therefore the affected districts will see an equal decrease in the amount of funding received through the formula the following year; unless the affected districts are hold-harmless, in which case the districts will not see a decrease in the amount of funding received through the formula (any increase in fine money distributed to the hold-harmless districts will simply be additional money). An increase in the deduction (all other factors remaining constant) reduces the cost to the state of funding the formula.


Oversight notes that local school districts would see an increase in fine revenue as a result of this proposal. As stated by DESE, this fine revenue would be a deduction the next year for some of the school districts. Oversight assumes an unknown amount of revenue would be realized each year by school districts and a corresponding decrease in school funding from the state the following year. Oversight assumes the fine revenue will fluctuate from year to year, therefore, the net fiscal impact to local school districts from FY 2009 on could be Unknown to (Unknown).


Officials from the Kansas City Police Department, Jefferson City Police Department, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Charles Police Department, and the St. Joseph Police Department did not respond to our request for fiscal impact.


The repeal of the vehicle safety inspections portion of the bill has an effective date of January 1, 2008, therefore, Oversight will assume 6 months of impact in FY 2008.


This proposal will reduce Total State Revenues.







FISCAL IMPACT - State Government

FY 2008

(10 Mo.)

FY 2009

FY 2010

GENERAL REVENUE FUND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savings - Reduced appropriations to State School Moneys Fund (from deduction of fine revenue from previous year)


$0


Unknown


Unknown

 

 

 

 

Costs - Department of Revenue

 

 

 

    Notification mailing

($3,032)

$0

$0

 

 

 

 

ESTIMATED NET EFFECT TO THE GENERAL REVENUE FUND


($3,032)


Unknown


Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STATE SCHOOL MONEYS FUND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savings - reduced distribution to schools

$0

Unknown

Unknown

 

 

 

 

Losses - reduced appropriations from the General Revenue Fund

$0

(Unknown)

(Unknown)

 

 

 

 

ESTIMATED NET EFFECT TO THE STATE SCHOOL MONEYS FUND


$0


$0


$0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIGHWAY FUND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss - Department of Transportation

 

 

 

     Fees associated with the elimination of vehicle inspections (except St. Louis)

($1,139,000)

($2,278,000)

($2,278,000)

 

 

 

 

ESTIMATED NET EFFECT TO THE HIGHWAY FUND

($1,139,000)

($2,278,000)

($2,278,000)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FISCAL IMPACT - State Government (continued)

FY 2008

(10 Mo.)

FY 2009

FY 2010

 

 

 

 

HIGHWAY PATROL INSPECTION FUND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss - Highway Patrol / Department of Transportation

 

 

 

     Fees associated with the elimination of vehicle inspections (except St. Louis)

($561,000)

($1,122,000)

($1,122,000)

 

 

 

 

ESTIMATED NET EFFECT TO THE HIGHWAY PATROL INSPECTION FUND*


($561,000)


($1,122,000)


($1,122,000)

* Note: the unappropriated/unspent balance of the Highway Patrol Inspection Fund is transferred every two years to the Road Fund.




FISCAL IMPACT - Local Government

FY 2008

(10 Mo.)

FY 2009

FY 2010

LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income - fine revenue from primary seat belt enforcement

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

 

 

 

 

Loss - reduction in state funding as a result of additional fine revenue in previous year.


$0


(Unknown)


(Unknown)

 

 

 

 

ESTIMATED NET EFFECT TO LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS


Unknown

Unknown to (Unknown)

Unknown to (Unknown)

 

 

 

 



FISCAL IMPACT - Small Business


Small businesses that conduct vehicle safety inspections would be fiscally impacted as a result of this proposal.



FISCAL DESCRIPTION


This proposal repeals the motor vehicle safety inspection program except for motor vehicles domiciled, primarily operated or registered in an emissions nonattainment area (St. Louis metropolitan area). The safety inspection remains in place for school buses on a state-wide basis and such inspections will be conducted by the highway patrol. The repeal of the state safety inspection becomes effective January 1, 2008.


The act also allows law enforcement officers to stop a vehicle for a seat belt violation if the violation is clearly visible (primary enforcement).


This legislation is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.

 


SOURCES OF INFORMATION


Department of Public Safety

     Missouri Highway Patrol

Department of Revenue

Department of Transportation

Office of Prosecution Services

Office of the State Public Defender

Office of the State Courts Administrator

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Springfield Police Department


NOT RESPONDING: Kansas City Police Department, Jefferson City Police Department, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Charles Police Department, and the St. Joseph Police Department




                                                                                                Mickey Wilson, CPA

                                                                                                Director

                                                                                                February 13, 2007