LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              March 19, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Elliott Naishtat, Chair, House Committee on
               Human Services
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB2395  by Chavez (Relating to the provision of financial
               assistance to certain legal immigrants.), As Introduced
  
**************************************************************************
*  Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for    *
*  HB2395, As Introduced:  negative impact of $(1,458,201) through       *
*  the biennium ending August 31, 2003.                                  *
*                                                                        *
*  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                *
          *       2002                           $(373,728)  *
          *       2003                          (1,084,473)  *
          *       2004                          (1,817,732)  *
          *       2005                          (2,543,638)  *
          *       2006                          (3,256,553)  *
          ****************************************************
  
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
  
**************************************************************************
*Fiscal        Probable             Probable        Change in Number of  *
* Year    Savings/(Cost) from  Savings/(Cost) from State Employees from  *
*        General Revenue Fund    Federal Funds -          FY 2001        *
*                0001                Federal                             *
*                                     0555                               *
*  2002             $(373,728)            $(66,931)                  1.0 *
*  2003            (1,084,473)            (136,709)                  4.0 *
*  2004            (1,817,732)            (364,430)                  8.0 *
*  2005            (2,543,638)            (516,269)                 12.0 *
*  2006            (3,256,553)            (657,875)                 15.5 *
**************************************************************************
  
Given the limited availability of TANF federal funds, for the purposes of
this fiscal note, General Revenue is assumed as the method of financing.
Should additional TANF federal funds become available,  $322,473 in FY
2002 and $921,883 in FY 2003 in General Revenue costs assumed above could
be financed with TANF federal funds.
  
Fiscal Analysis
  
The bill would amend Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Human Resources Code by
adding Section 31.0015 relating to eligibility of certain legal
immigrants. The bill directs the Texas Department of Human Services
(DHS) to determine eligibility for Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)  financial assistance for federally defined qualified
aliens who entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996, who
meet all eligibility criteria except for citizenship (8 USC Section
1612, as amended), and have been a resident of the United States for a
minimum of five years.
  
  
Methodology
  
The department determined the percentage of legal immigrants of the TANF
caseload for January - December 1996 and the percentage of legal
immigrants of the TANF caseload for February 2001. The percentages for
the 1996 time period were compared to the lower February 2001 percentages
of legal immigrants to determine the number of projected legal
immigrants who would become eligible under the bill.

The department determined the 5-year residency requirement of the bill
would take effect in September 2001 for those who were denied benefits 5
years before in September 1996, the legal immigrants projected to become
eligible under the 5-year residency requirement of the bill were equally
distributed over FYs 2002-06.

DHS assumed no delay between the time persons become legal immigrants and
the time they become eligible for services under the bill, and assumes
the legal immigrants projected to become eligible under the bill have the
same demographic characteristics and financial situations as those legal
immigrants receiving TANF financial assistance in February 2001.

The department indicated there would be a reduction in the caseloads for
the Undocumented and Ineligible Immigrant Medicaid program, since some of
the clients in the program would transfer into TANF.  DHS stated no
estimate of the anticipated transfer of the legal immigrants and its
fiscal impact could be included in the analyses because the data are not
available.  DHS also stated because of the increase in the TANF caseload,
additional DHS staff would be needed.

TANF eligibility is assumed to confer eligibility for medical assistance
(Medicaid). The numbers in the table above include amounts for medical
assistance payments for 415 clients in FY 2002, 1,182 in FY 2003, 1,949
in FY 2004, 2,715 in FY 2005 and 3,482 in FY 2006.
  
  
Local Government Impact
  
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
  
  
Source Agencies:   320   Texas Workforce Commission, 324   Texas
                   Department of Human Services
LBB Staff:         JK, HD, ML