LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              April 11, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Florence Shapiro, Chair, Senate Committee on
               State Affairs
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB464  by Shapleigh (Relating to determining the
               prevailing per diem wage rate to be paid in connection
               with constructing a public work for the state.),
               Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
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Local Government Impact
  
The bill would require that in a locality where a contract for a public
work is awarded by a political subdivision or the state, the public body
would determine the prevailing wage rates for each craft or type of
worker needed to execute the contract. Provisions of the bill would
require that to determine the prevailing wage rate, a survey would be
conducted of wages received by classes of workers employed on similar
projects both within the same political subdivision and statewide, as
well as reviewing the prevailing wage rate as determined by the United
States Department of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act and its
subsequent amendments. The prevailing wage rate used would be the higher
of the rates of the political subdivision survey, the statewide survey,
or from the Department of Labor.

The provisions of the bill would also amend the definition of "locality
in which the work is performed" to restrict that in a municipality with a
population of 500,000 or more may only include the geographic limits of
the municipality.

Based on responses from a sampling of counties and cities, it is
anticipated that the requirements of the proposed statute would require
an additional one-half to one full-time-equivalent position per
political subdivision.  In large cities and counties, the additional
salary, benefits, and capital expenditures required for the position
would be no significant fiscal impact; however, in small cities and
counties, the additional position could have a significant impact.
Examples of projected costs to counties ranged from $17,800 for a
half-time staff position in a small county to $20,000 for a full-time
position in a large county. Cities indicated that increased staff time
for conducting the surveys would add 15 to 20 percent to the cost of
public works projects.
  
  
Source Agencies:   480   Department of Economic Development, 303
                   General Services Commission, 601   Texas Department
                   of Transportation, 320   Texas Workforce Commission,
                   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, DB, RB, GS