FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: February 22, 2021
Time Requested: 01:34 PM |
| Agency: |
Environmental Protection, Department of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 1516 |
Introduced |
HB2630 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Environment |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
Various Funds
Sources of Revenue:
Special Fund
Legislation creates:
Decreases Existing Revenue
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
Summarize in a clear and concise manner what impact this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
HB2360 requires DEP to pay back fines to towns and communities that have corrected the violation for which they were fined. DEP believes that if this bill should pass, then the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may deem our enforcement program unable to meet the minimum requirements for Program Authorization. This could result in our Primacy being withdrawn and would result in the loss of an estimated $3 million to $6 million of federal grant money annually, a portion of which is passthrough funding to WV organizations to fund their environmental projects.
DEP further believes that fines are intended to be not only punitive, but also a deterrent to others to ensure all communities operate within the law, and correcting the violation is part of the enforcement action anyway. Therefore, DEP feels that this bill is counterproductive in deterring violations if the consequences of those actions ultimately have little or no repercussions to the violators.
Upon implementation of this bill, DEP estimates it will also lose approximately $200,000 in annual revenue from fines to towns and communities.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2021
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2022
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
-4,700,000 |
-4,700,000 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
Please explain increases and decreases in personal services, current expenses, repairs and alterations, assets, other costs and revenues, including assumptions and data sources and delineation between start-up and ongoing costs. Please also include a long-range schedule of costs and revenues if fiscal impact is expected to vary in future years.
In the table above, the Estimated Total Revenues represents the average annual LOSS of revenue to DEP, as explained above. DEP could potentially, and most likely would, lose eligibility for at least four federal grants from the EPA that bring in $3 million to $6 million annually (averaged to be $4.5 million annually in the amount represented above) in addition to the loss of approximately $200,000 in fines to towns and communities. The cumulative loss is expected to be approximately $4,700,000 annually.
Memorandum
Please identify any areas of vagueness, technical defects, reasons a bill would not have a fiscal impact, and/or any special issues not captured elsewhere on this form.
None.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Gary W Rogers
Email Address: gary.w.rogers@wv.gov