LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 86TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 18, 2019

TO:
Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
 
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director     Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director
Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
SB340 by Huffman (relating to the creation of a grant program to assist law enforcement agencies with the purchase of opioid antagonists.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The criminal justice division of the governor's office is required to implement a provision of this Act only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the criminal justice division of the governor's office may, but is not required to, implement a provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that purpose.

The bill would amend the Government Code to create a grant program within the Criminal Justice Division at Office of the Governor to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies that seek to provide opioid antagonists to certain personnel who are likely to come into contact with opioids or encounter persons suffering from an apparent opioid-related overdose. The bill states that the Criminal Justice Division may use any money available for the purposes of this grant program.

According to the Office of the Governor, the purchase of opioid overdose medication is already eligible under some of the grant programs available to law enforcement agencies operated by the Criminal Justice Division. While the number of current grants applications for this purpose are low, the agency believes that a separate program with dedicated funding would generate additional interest. However, as the bill states that the Criminal Justice Division may use any money available for this purpose, and this is currently a permissible grant activity by the division, it is assumed that the implementation of the provisions of this bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.


Source Agencies:
300 Trusteed Programs Within the Office of the Governor, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 405 Department of Public Safety
LBB Staff:
WP, LBO, NV, JSm