LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
  
                              April 8, 1999
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Tom Ramsay, Chair, House Committee on County
               Affairs
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB 2981  by Hamric (Relating to emergency services
               districts.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
  
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*  No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.                    *
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Local Government Impact
  
The bill's provision reducing the maximum property tax rate that a fire
prevention district converting to an emergency services district from 6
cents to 3 cents on each $100 of taxable property value would reduce the
potential property tax revenues such a district could expect to collect
by one half.

The bill would provide greater financial flexibility to emergency
services districts, since it would allow them to borrow money.

The bill could provide savings to districts being created in more than
one county, since it would allow elections for the initial commissioners
on one of the four uniform statewide election dates, rather than a
non-uniform election date in November. Since under current law,
elections for the initial commissioners would generally require a
separate election, a district could save the cost of a separate election
if the initial fire commissioner election could be combined with another
election. The savings associated with eliminating the need for a
separate election would depend on the population within the fire
protection district. Based on a recent survey of local governments, it
is estimated that the median cost of a local election is approximately
$.52 per resident.
  
  
Source Agencies:   
LBB Staff:         JK, TL