LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  February 27, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Judith Zaffirini, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 115, Committee Report 1st House
          Committee on Health & Human Services                              By: Zaffirini
          Senate
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB115 ( Relating 
to certain investigations conducted by the Department of Protective 
and Regulatory Services.) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB115-Committee Report 1st House
         
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         
This bill would amend Section 48.081 of the Human Resources 
Code to provide that the Department of Protective and Regulatory 
Services, by rule, may assign priorities to an investigation 
of abuse, neglect or exploitation in a state mental health/mental 
retardation facility or a community mental health/mental retardation 
center. The bill provides that the department's primary criterion 
in assigning a priority must be the risk that a delay in the 
investigation will impede collection of evidence.

The department 
estimates that it will cost approximately $10,000 to re-program 
the automated system so that caseworkers can assign priorities 
to these investigations.  In the event that a decision is made 
to establish a priority-based system, this one-time cost would 
not be significant.
         
 
          
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   
                                         530   Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
                                         655   Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,BB