| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
Relating to the allocation to and use by the Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Historical Commission of certain proceeds from the imposition of state sales and use taxes on sporting goods.
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB 26, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($545,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2021.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of
funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
SB 26 would ensure that all funds attributed from the sporting goods sales tax (SGST) to the Historic Commission Account and the Texas Recreation and Parks Account are used only for the purposes of those accounts as specified in tax code. This bill would reenact a dedicated account on behalf of the Texas Historical Commission in order to receive its share of SGST revenue. Additionally, this bill clarifies the purposes for which funds may be used, including the local park purposes, debt service bonds, and associated employee and retiree benefit costs.
This bill is contingent on the voter approval of SJR 24, a constitutional amendment requiring the automatic appropriation of the net revenue received from the collection of the SGST to the TWPD and THC.
Revenue collected from the sporting goods sales tax is already statutorily dedicated to the Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission. Even if the constitutional amendment proposed by SJR 24 were to be adopted, the legislature would still have the ability to abolish the tax, change the amount of the tax, or change the percentages allotted the respective departments without needing to amend the constitution again. The proposed constitutional amendment and this enabling legislation do not affect our liberty principles and we remain neutral.