TO:	Honorable Todd Hunter, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3924 by Oliverson (Relating to state agency employment openings and aptitude assessments.), As Introduced

General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Analysis

This bill would amend the Government Code to allow applicants applying for classified state positions to complete a single state application and a standardized aptitude assessment online.

Methodology

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) administers and operates the WorkInTexas (WIT) application, which will be the sole impacted application regarding the provisions of this bill. WIT is a mission-critical application that provides core business functionality and is the state's current online Labor Exchange system.

This analysis assumes that implementation of the bill's provisions by TWC requires the development of a standardized aptitude test and the buildout of the current IT system WIT. A total one-time technology cost of $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2024 would be required for the buildout of WIT to incorporate the standardized aptitude test for state employment and the various notifications as required by this bill. Fiscal year 2025 and beyond includes $400,000 in ongoing annual costs for WIT  and the development and maintenance of the aptitude test at the cost of $5,000,000 per fiscal year. This analysis assumes TWC will use subcontractors to develop one assessment and one revamp each fiscal year after that.

This analysis assumes that the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) would need one-time funding to ensure system interfaces can access the aptitude assessment from WIT and ongoing funding for the current human resources and payroll services vendor to perform the annual review of classified positions at the agency. Total costs to HHSC are estimated to be $3,378,344 in All Funds for the 2024-25 biennium.

Based on the analysis of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Bond Review Board, Department of Licensing and Regulation, Texas Medical Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Department of Transportation, Texas A&M University System Administrative & General Offices, University of Texas System Administration, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, any duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by the agencies utilizing existing resources.

Technology

As mentioned above, the Texas Workforce System (TWC) would require one-time costs of $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2024 for the buildout of WIT to incorporate the standardized aptitude test for state employment and $400,000 each fiscal year after that for ongoing annual costs.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.