Honorable Lois W. Kolkhorst, Chair, House Committee on Public Health
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1476 by Riddle (Relating to the grounds for revocation of an emergency medical services personnel certification.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1476, As Introduced: a positive impact of $901,000 through the biennium ending August 31, 2013.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2012
$901,000
2013
$0
2014
$0
2015
$0
2016
$0
Fiscal Year
Probable Revenue Gain from General Revenue Fund 1
Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2012
$1,815,250
($914,250)
2013
$0
$0
2014
$0
$0
2015
$0
$0
2016
$0
$0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill amends Section 773.0614(c), Health and Safety Code to specify that emergency medical services (EMS) personnel’s certification shall be revoked if the certificate holder has been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision or deferred disposition for certain criminal offenses. Currently statute states that EMS personnel’s certification shall be revoked if the certificate holder is convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision or deferred disposition.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2011.
Methodology
According to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), to verify if a person has been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision or deferred disposition as stated in the bill, DSHS would have to require all EMS personnel certified prior to January 1, 2010 when DSHS began requiring fingerprint-based criminal history checks for all initial applicants, to get criminal history checks, including Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint-based checks and the results of these checks would have to be evaluated by DSHS staff. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) would conduct these criminal history checks. DSHS estimates that approximately 53,000 EMS personnel would be impacted by this provision.
It is assumed that all of these fingerprint-based criminal history checks would be done in fiscal year 2012, which would result in a total increase in revenue of $1,815,250 in this fiscal year from the $34.25 fee collected for the checks paid directly to DPS by the EMS personnel. However, a portion of this fee revenue, $17.25 per check, is returned to the FBI for professional services as required by federal statute; which would result in a cost of $914,250 in fiscal year 2012.
DSHS and DPS anticipate being able to absorb any additional administrative costs associated with this provision within existing agency resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
405 Department of Public Safety, 537 State Health Services, Department of, 116 Sunset Advisory Commission