Honorable Harold V. Dutton, Jr., Chair, House Committee on Public Education
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB605 by Gervin-Hawkins (Relating to the adoption of a healthy and safe school water plan by public schools.), As Introduced
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined at this time as the number of buildings districts would test for lead each year is not known.
The bill's provisions would require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to reimburse districts for costs of testing water for lead concentration to the extent funds are available to the agency for that purpose. Because the total number of buildings districts would plan to test each year is not known, the fiscal implications cannot be determined at this time but are expected to be significant. TEA assumes school districts would incur costs between $2,000 and $3,000 per building to test water sources for lead. There are approximately 8,100 campuses operated by school districts statewide.
Local Government Impact
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality assumes school districts may have costs to implement a healthy and safe school water plan, including costs for sample collection and analysis, lead mitigation activities, and plans for reducing exposure to elevated levels of lead in school water sources. The costs would vary depending on what is included in each district's plan, such as frequency of testing, number of school water sources tested, and the scope of activities required to mitigate lead and reduce exposure to elevated lead levels. These costs could be partially offset by reimbursements districts receive from TEA for water testing.
Source Agencies:
582 Commission on Environmental Quality, 701 Texas Education Agency