LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session April 8, 2001 TO: Honorable Robert Junell, Chair, House Committee on Appropriations FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB3281 by Walker (Relating to overtime compensation for certain employees of the Texas Forest Service while working in an emergency situation.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** The bill would allow the Texas Forest Service to pay its employees overtime compensation for work done in an emergency and to pay its employees for unused compensatory time accrued while working during an emergency. The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to compensate non-exempt employees for hours worked over 40 in one week at a rate 1.5 times the employees' rate of pay. According to FLSA, an exempt employee could only earn compensatory time, but could not be paid for unused compensatory time. The Forest Service employs 350 FTEs, 250 of which are non-exempt and 100 who are exempt. The House Committee Substitute for S.B. 1 includes an overtime contingency appropriation for non-exempt employees of $335,223 for each year of the biennium. In response to this legislation, the Forest Service states its exempt employees would be paid on a straight-time basis for additional hours worked in connection with an emergency. The Forest Service states the overtime payment would come from existing resources. Local Government Impact No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. Source Agencies: 576 Texas Forest Service, 710 The Texas A&M University System, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, SD, PF, JW