HBA-JEK H.B. 2937 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2937 By: Kitchen County Affairs 3/30/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Many counties impose licensing fees that are neither specifically authorized nor prohibited by law. Recent attorney general opinions indicate that counties, like state licensing agencies, may not prescribe any fee which is not specifically authorized by statute. House Bill 2937 authorizes the commissioners court of a county to set a reasonable fee for issuing a license, permit, or registration that is authorized by statute but for which a fee is not specifically prescribed. 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 House Bill 2937 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the commissioners court of a county to set a reasonable fee for issuing a license, permit, or registration that is authorized by statute but does not have a fee specifically prescribed by statute. The bill prohibits the commissioners court from setting the fee in an amount that is greater than necessary to recover the expenses of regulating the activity for which the license, permit, or registration is issued. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.