LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
  
                              March 1, 1999
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Irma Rangel, Chair, House Committee on Higher
               Education
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB491  by Lewis, Glenn (Relating to exempting peace
               officers enrolled in a criminal justice program from
               tuition and fees charged by a public institution  of
               higher education), As Introduced
  
**************************************************************************
*  Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for    *
*  HB491, As Introduced:  negative impact of $(2,402,666) through the    *
*  biennium ending August 31, 2001.                                      *
*                                                                        *
*  The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal      *
*  basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of    *
*  the bill.                                                             *
**************************************************************************
  
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
  
          ****************************************************
          *  Fiscal Year  Probable Net Positive/(Negative)   *
          *               Impact to General Revenue Related  *
          *                             Funds                *
          *       2000                         $(1,187,137)  *
          *       2001                          (1,215,529)  *
          *       2002                          (1,215,529)  *
          *       2003                          (1,215,529)  *
          *       2004                          (1,215,529)  *
          ****************************************************
  
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
  
         *****************************************************
         * Fiscal Year      Probable Savings/(Cost) from      *
         *                General Revenue Fund for Tuition    *
         *                   Exemptions at Universities       *
         *                              0001                  *
         *      2000                             $(1,187,137) *
         *      2001                              (1,215,529) *
         *      2002                              (1,215,529) *
         *      2003                              (1,215,529) *
         *      2004                              (1,215,529) *
         *****************************************************
  
Technology Impact
  
Adding this exemption program would require each university and community
college to adjust their systems to track this exemption.
  
  
Fiscal Analysis
  
The bill would provide an exemption from tuition and fees to peace
officers who are enrolled in a degree or certificate program in criminal
justice at an institution of higher education.  The peace officer must
be employed by a political subdivision of the state and the course must
satisfy a requirement for the degree or certificate program.
  
  
Methodology
  
There are 56,369 peace officers who could take advantage of this program.
We assume that two percent of those eligible would take advantage of
the program each year and that 225 would be new students.  We estimate
that 55 percent would attend a community college and 45 percent would
attend a university.

The amount of general revenue needed to replace lost tuition revenue at
universities and for the cost of additional students at community
colleges and universities would be $1,187,137 in fiscal year 2000 and
increase to $1,215,529 in fiscal year 2004.

General revenue would not be used to offset the loss of fee revenue by
universities, thus costing universities $691,041 in fiscal year 2000,
$724,503 in fiscal year 2001, $788,892 in fiscal year 2002, $856,830 in
fiscal year 2003, and $927,810 in fiscal year 2004.
  
  
Local Government Impact
  
General revenue would not be used to offset the loss of tuition and fee
revenue by community colleges, resulting in community college losses of
$717,712 in fiscal year 2000, $744,992 in fiscal year 2001, $774,132 in
fiscal year 2002, $803,892 in fiscal year 2003, and $836,132 in fiscal
year 2004.
  
  
Source Agencies:   
LBB Staff:         JK, CT, PF, DB