| TO: | Honorable Dianne White Delisi, Chair, House Committee on Public Health |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB247 by Goodman (Relating to the issuance of a permit to dispense contact lenses to certain business entities.), As Introduced |
This bill would amend the Occupations Code to allow a business entity that applies for a contact lens dispensing permit, or for renewal of a contact lens dispensing permit, that has more than one location, to obtain a single permit for the entity and its employees on or after the effective date of the bill. The bill would also allow a business entity holding more than one contact lens dispensing permit under existing law before the effective date of the bill, to renew only one of the permits as the permits expire on and after that date.
According to the Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), seven permitted businesses have between two and nine locations and that the current fee is $300 for each location each year. According to DSHS, these seven businesses have a total of 27 locations. Under the provision of the bill, each business would have to have only one permit, rather than a permit for each location, reducing the number of permits by 20—from 27 to seven. Based on the current $300 annual fee per location, permit fees would decrease by $6,000 per year, assuming no change in the net number of locations. Based on the analysis of the Comptroller of Public Accounts and DSHS, revenues lost would have no significant fiscal impact.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2005.
| Source Agencies: | 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 514 Optometry Board, 537 Department of State Health Services
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, CL, MW, RR
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