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cost estimate
August 14, 2012
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As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on August 1, 2012
H.R. 6007 would exempt the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) from prosecution under certain provisions of the Lacey Act for the transfer of water containing zebra mussels from Oklahoma to Texas. The Lacey Act protects plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for various violations, including transferring injurious species across state borders. Because zebra mussels are listed as injurious species under that act, under current law, transporting water containing zebra mussels would violate those provisions.
Based on information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Under current law, federal agencies, including the USFWS and the Department of Justice, have the authority to negotiate agreements that would allow the NTMWD to transfer the affected waters without being prosecuted. Enacting H.R. 6007 could reduce revenues from penalties under the Lacey Act; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any such reductions would be negligible. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending.
H.R. 6007 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.