Honorable Dan Huberty, Chair, House Committee on Public Education
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB17 by Bonnen, Greg (Relating to public school safety measures and procedures.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB17, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($9,131,144) through the biennium ending August 31, 2021.
Provisions of the bill related to Junior Colleges are expected to have costs. However, these costs cannot be determined at this time.
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
2020
($4,565,572)
2021
($4,565,572)
2022
($5,037,476)
2023
($5,037,476)
2024
($5,037,476)
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2019
2020
($4,565,572)
25.0
2021
($4,565,572)
25.0
2022
($5,037,476)
25.0
2023
($5,037,476)
25.0
2024
($5,037,476)
25.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would establish various new procedures and requirements related to improving public school safety.
A school board that receives notice of noncompliance with the Texas School Safety Center's (TSSC) audit findings and fails to correct plan deficiencies within six months of notification would be required to hold a public hearing to notify the public of information related to its noncompliance. The Commissioner of Education would be empowered to appoint a conservator to a district that fails to submit a multihazard emergency operations plan. The Commissioner could appoint a board of managers if a district fails to comply with a conservator's order to submit a multihazard emergency operations plan.
Under the provisions of the bill, the TSSC would be required to audit school districts and report findings to TEA. The TSSC would be required to establish a random need-based cycle for the center's review and approval of school district and public junior college district multihazard emergency operations plans. The TSSC could require a district to submit its multihazard emergency operations plan for immediate review if the district's audit results indicate that the district is not complying with applicable standards. A school district or public junior college district would be required to submit its multihazard emergency operations plan to the center on request of the center. The bill would also require the School Safety Center to develop a list of best practices related to the security of portable buildings.
The bill would take immediate effect if it receives a two-thirds vote in each house of the Legislature. Otherwise, the bill would take effect September 1, 2019.
Methodology
Based on information provided by Texas State University, it is projected that an additional 25 positions would be needed to meet the existing deliverables of the Texas State School Safety Center at an increased level (training, research, technical assistance), as well as to meet the additional deliverables outlined in this bill. These additional deliverables include staff to review and approve school district, charter, and community college emergency operations plans, as well as validation and maintenance of the school safety registry. The University estimates costs associated with these additional FTEs, as well as travel, and other operating expenses, to be approximately $4.6 million beginning in fiscal year 2020 and increasing slightly to $5.0 million by fiscal year 2024.
This analysis assumes that provisions of the bill related to the Texas Education Agency and Office of the Governor could be accomplished with existing resources.
According to the Texas Association of Community Colleges, several institutions could see increased costs due to the bill's requirements that telephone and electronic communication devices be available to district employees. However, these costs cannot be determined at this time.
Local Government Impact
School districts are likely to see increased costs resulting from several of the bill's provisions, including the bill's requirements that districts comply with TSSC noncompliance findings. These include the following requirements:
- Compliance with new facilities standards and any findings of noncompliance by the TSSC.
- Updates to school districts' multi-hazard emergency operations plans.
- Notification requirements.
- Providing access to emergency communications to campus staff.
Charter schools could see increased costs related to compliance with various school safety provisions included in the bill.
Source Agencies:
300 Trusteed Programs Within the Office of the Governor, 701 Texas Education Agency, 758 Texas State University System, 980 Southwest Texas Junior College, 996 Lone Star College System, 454 Department of Insurance, 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 537 State Health Services, Department of, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board