LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 80TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

Revision 1

May 3, 2007

TO:	Honorable Jane Nelson, Chair, Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB37 by Nelson (Relating to the duties of the Texas Information and Referral Network.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB37, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($1,415,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2009.

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
2008	($677,000)
2009	($738,000)
2010	($738,000)
2011	($738,000)
2012	($738,000)

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable Revenue (Loss) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1	Probable Revenue Gain from New General Revenue Dedicated
2008	($677,000)	$677,000
2009	($738,000)	$738,000
2010	($738,000)	$738,000
2011	($738,000)	$738,000
2012	($738,000)	$738,000

Fiscal Analysis

Section 1 of the bill would amend Section 531.0312(a) of the Government Code, relating to the Health and Human Services Commission, to expand the public information responsibilities of the Texas Information and Referral Network (TIRN).  It would require the TIRN to provide information to the public about the compliant process at each of the licensing member agencies of the Health Professions Council and to assist consumers in obtaining information about the status of complaints at each of the agencies.

Section 2 of the bill would transfer language from the Occupations Code to the Government Code related to funding of the Office of Patient Protection, rename it Funding of Texas Information and Referral Network, and direct the fees that are collected to a special account in the General Revenue fund for appropriation to the TIRN. 

Sections 3 and 4 would repeal sections related to the Office of Patient Protection in Subchapter G, Chapter 101 of the Occupations Code.

Section 5 would stipulate that the change in law applies only to a fee collected for the issuance or renewal of a license on or after October 1, 2007.

Under current law, fees collected from licensing and registration issued by twelve member agencies of the Health Professions Council are deposited in General Revenue to fund the Office of Patient Protection.  The bill would direct these fees to a special account in the General Revenue fund that may be appropriated only for certain activities of the TIRN and thereby result in a revenue loss to the General Revenue Fund.  For the purposes of this estimate, it was assumed that the combined total of initial and renewal license fee revenues would remain relatively stable over the projection period.

The Health and Human Services Commission would not experience an increase in workload, since the Texas 2-1-1 program currently provides information as directed by the bill.

This bill would take effect September 1, 2007.

Methodology

The decrease in revenue to the General Revenue Fund is estimated by the Comptroller of Public Accounts to be approximately $0.7 million in each year.  The fiscal year 2008 amount is slightly less because of the October 1, 2007 start date for the change in law governing the fees.  The total is a biennial cost of $1.4 million (see above).

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

116 Sunset Advisory Commission, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 364 Health Professions Council, 529 Health and Human Services Commission

LBB Staff:

JOB, KJG, CL, PP, MB