LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 82ND LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 19, 2011

TO:
Honorable Lois W. Kolkhorst, Chair, House Committee on Public Health
 
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB2546 by Zerwas (Relating to the Texas emergency and trauma care education partnership program.), As Introduced



Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB2546, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($3,090,445) 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 ($54,169)
2013 ($3,036,276)
2014 ($3,036,676)
2015 ($3,036,276)
2016 ($3,036,676)




Fiscal Year Probable Savings/(Cost) from
General Revenue Fund
1
2012 ($54,169)
2013 ($3,036,276)
2014 ($3,036,676)
2015 ($3,036,276)
2016 ($3,036,676)



Fiscal Year Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2011
2012 0.5
2013 0.5
2014 0.5
2015 0.5
2016 0.5

Fiscal Analysis

The provisions of the bill would create the Texas Emergency and Trauma Care Education Partnership Program administered by the Higher Education Coordinating Board (Board). Under provisions of the bill, the Board would make grants to emergency and trauma care education partnerships to assist those partnerships in offering two-year residency fellowships to students enrolled in nursing or medical education programs with a focus in the area of family medicine through the collaboration between hospitals and nursing or medical education programs and the use of the existing expertise and facilities of those hospitals and programs. It includes requirements tied to the use of the grants and funding priorities. The Board may use any money appropriated by the legislature, gifts, grants and donations to support the program.

Methodology

The Board anticipates costs to establish rules for the program, conduct a grants competition as needed and at an interval to be determined, administer and monitor grant awards, and approve partnership programs.  These costs are estimated to be $90,445 for the 2012-13 biennium.

The Board estimates the following costs based on other partnership programs it administers. They include personnel requirements of 0.25 FTE Program Director and 0.25 FTE Administrative Assistant III (0.50 FTE total) and other costs to administer the program for a total of $87,645 for the 2012-13 biennium. Travel costs for the Program Director to evaluate the grantees on-site assume an average of $400 per site visit, with seven visits starting in 2013 and eight visits in 2014, for a total of 15 site visits over each two-year grant period. The total travel costs for the 2012-13 biennium would total $2,800 since the site visits would not start until the second year of the biennium. It is assumed that all 15 non-military Level 1 Trauma Centers in Texas would participate in the program.

Based on information from the Board, only physician fellows are considered in this analysis and it assumes only funding post-residency fellowships.
 
It is assumed the Board would not start awarding grants until fiscal year 2013 after is has established the rules and guidelines and for the participating partnerships to be developed. It is assumed approximately 50 physicians for the two-year fellowship would participate starting in fiscal year 2013. The estimated costs is $60,000 per year per fellow for fiscal year 2013 for a total of $3 million for the 2012-13 biennium.

The bill takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If the Bill does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, the Bill takes effect September 1, 2011.


Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.


Source Agencies:
781 Higher Education Coordinating Board
LBB Staff:
JOB, CL, RT, DE, GO