LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  April 30, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Barry Telford, Chair            IN RE:  House Bill No. 1700, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
          Committee on Pensions and Investments                              By: Rangel
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB1700 ( Relating 
to group health coverage for school district employees.) this 
office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB1700-Committee Report 1st House, Substituted   FN Revision 1
         
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
          
The bill would require that school districts provide health 
insurance coverage to their employees that is "substantially 
similar" to the insurance coverage offered to state employees. 
 The bill would provide several criteria that the Teacher Retirement 
System shall use in determining whether a district's coverage 
is substantially similar.  Current statute requires that school 
districts provide "comparable" coverage, but does not define 
what "comparable" coverage means.  One of the criteria in the 
bill requires a school district to pay for 90% of the cost of 
employee-only coverage, and 45% of the cost of dependent coverage. 
 According to information reported by the school districts to 
the Teacher Retirement System, 243 school districts currently 
pay between 70% and 100% of the cost for employee-only coverage, 
and at least 506 school districts pay less than 70%.  The majority 
of school districts reported making no contribution for dependent 
coverage. 
          
   Source:            Agencies:   
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,PE ,SC