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