LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
                                Revision 2
  
                              March 6, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Bill G. Carter, Chair, House Committee on Urban
               Affairs
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB1529  by Bailey (Relating to classification of
               positions within covered fire departments.), As Introduced
  
**************************************************************************
*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
**************************************************************************
  
Local Government Impact
  
Certain provisions of the bill would identify work that may be performed
only by specifically classified fire department personnel and applies
only to the Houston Fire Department.  Other provisions of the bill would
require fire departments statewide to develop standard operating
procedures that comply with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
standards, including ensuring an adequate number of personnel to safely
conduct emergency scene operations. Exceptions for deviating from NFPA
standards would be provided by the change in statute.

Regarding the section of the bill pertaining to Houston, city officials
indicate that they currently have civilian personnel filling positions
that the provisions of the bill would require be performed only by
certified firefighters.  The city states that the annual fire department
civilian budget  is $11.9 million, 30 percent of which goes to civilian
positions that would have to be replaced with firefighters. City
officials estimate a 35 percent increase in salary and benefit costs to
replace civilians with firefighters, which amounts to an additional cost
of $3.4 million.

The Texas State Association of Firefighters indicated that the provisions
of the bill that relate to developing operating procedures which meet
NFPA standards would have a fiscal impact to local fire departments only
if they were to choose to increase staffing to meet NFPA standards.  For
example, NFPA standards require four firefighters to be at the scene
before an internal attack of a structural fire can begin. Departments
could choose to create an operating procedure that adopts this
requirement without hiring additional staff. This is a current
recommendation by the Commission on Fire Protection, but would be
mandated under the provisions of the bill.

Emergency Services Districts (ESDs) from small counties indicated that
their current revenue would not provide for increased staffing, so they
would have to adjust their operating procedures without adding personnel.
These ESDs indicate that having smaller staffs and having to wait to
have four firefighters on the scene before beginning the internal attack
would result in costly delays. An example cited is that a fire that could
possibly be contained quickly would have time to spread and result in
the need for more personnel at the scene for a longer period than if the
first two firefighters on the scene could have begun the internal attack
without waiting for more firefighters. This would increase the cost for
fighting the fire and would increase the level of damages and loss of
property.

Departments in medium sized and large cities or counties would experience
a significant increase in costs if they were to add staff to meet NFPA
standards. According to officials with one of the Travis County ESDs,
the provisions of the bill would result in an increased cost of $300,000
for their district, which is a third of their current total budget.
Officials with the City of Houston indicated that their department would
need to increase staff size by about 550 firefighters to meet NFPA
standards, which would cost in excess of $40 million annually.
  
  
Source Agencies:   411   Texas Commission on Fire Protection
LBB Staff:         JK, DB, TB