LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  April 18, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Irma Rangel, Chair            IN RE:  House Bill No. 1557, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
          Committee on Higher Education                              By: Hinojosa
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB1557 ( Relating 
to the establishment and operation of a regional academic health 
center by the University of Texas System.) this office has detemined 
the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB1557-Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
         
Implementing the provisions of the bill would result in a net 
impact of $0 to General Revenue Related Funds through the biennium 
ending August 31, 1999.
         

         
 
Fiscal Analysis

The bill would provide that the University 
of Texas System Board of Regents could establish and operate 
a Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC), serving Cameron, Hidalgo, 
Starr, and Willacy counties to provide undergraduate clinical, 
graduate, residency, or other levels of medical education.  
The board of regents could assign responsibility for management 
of the center to a component institution of the University of 
Texas System.   The bill would require that costs of the operation 
of the center would be provided under the current operating 
budget of the component institution.  The bill would authorize 
a public or private entity to provide adequate physical facilities 
for use by the center but would prohibit state funds to be used 
for the construction, maintenance, or operations of new facilities. 
 The bill would allow a teaching hospital to be provided but 
it could not be constructed, maintained, or operated with state 
funds.

Methodology

Because the bill would require the 
center to be funded with the current operating budget of a component 
institution and would prohibit the facilities to be funded with 
state funds, it is assumed that all costs to the state would 
be funded within current appropriations and other funding available 
to the UT System component institutions.

Similar annual fiscal 
implications would continue as long as the provisions of the 
bill are in effect.
          
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government 
is anticipated.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,LP ,CF