| TO: | Honorable Joe Driver, Chair, House Committee on Law Enforcement |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB3203 by Delisi (Relating to the creation of the driver responsibility program to fund certain emergency medical services, trauma facilities, and trauma care systems in this state. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2004 | ($784,185) |
| 2005 | $1,332,415 |
| 2006 | $2,353,172 |
| 2007 | $2,350,367 |
| 2008 | $2,347,977 |
| Fiscal Year | Probable (Cost) fromGENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 |
Probable Revenue Gain fromGENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 |
Probable Revenue Gain fromGR - D Trauma Facility and Emergency Medical Services | Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ($1,982,945) | $1,198,760 | $118,677,205 | 23.0 |
| 2005 | ($942,614) | $2,275,029 | $225,227,829 | 23.0 |
| 2006 | ($998,023) | $3,351,195 | $331,768,326 | 23.0 |
| 2007 | ($1,000,828) | $3,351,195 | $331,768,326 | 23.0 |
| 2008 | ($1,003,218) | $3,351,195 | $331,768,326 | 23.0 |
The bill would amend the Transportation Code to implement a driver responsibility program administered by the Department of Public Safety. The program would consist of assessing motor vehicle points against the licenses of drivers who commit certain driving offenses. The bill would require an annual surcharge be assessed against drivers whose licenses had accumulated six or more points within the preceding 36 months. The surcharge would be $100 for the first six points and $25 for each additional point. The bill would also require annual surcharges, not to exceed three years, for the following offenses: driving while intoxicated or refusal to consent to intoxication testing —$1,000 for the first and second offense, increasing to $1,500 for the third offense; driving with a suspended or revoked license or without proof of financial responsibility—$250; or, driving with an expired or without a valid driver's license—$100.
The bill would require 99 percent of the revenue to be deposited to the newly created General Revenue Dedicated Account—Designated Trauma Facility and Emergency Medical Services. One (1) percent of the revenue would be deposited to the General Revenue Fund. Additionally, the bill would require at minimum 96 percent of program appropriations to fund uncompensated trauma care at state trauma facilities; 2 percent on supplies, operational costs, communication systems, vehicles, training, and trauma service coordination; 1 percent on operations of trauma service areas; and 1 percent for Texas Department of Health administration related to the program.
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has estimated the revenue gain based on statistics from FY 2000, FY 2001, and FY 2002. The revenue estimate assumes a compliance rate for the payment of the surcharges of 66 percent.
DPS reports the bill would generate approximately 547,000 new surcharge cases per year for the first three years. The department reports that the Driver Improvement Bureau, Safety Responsibility Bureau, Customer Service Bureau , Information Management Services, and Mail Operations would require additional FTEs and operating costs to implement the provisions of the bill. The FTEs would be responsible for mainframe system reprogramming, evaluating the driver cases, processing compliance items, applying appropriate points to the driver history, handling customer service inquiries, and processing payments. Employee benefits are calculated at 28.46 percent of salaries and wages.
| Source Agencies: | 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety
|
| LBB Staff: | JK, JO, WK, VDS, AR
|