COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH
OVERSIGHT DIVISION
FISCAL NOTE
L.R. No.: 4783-01
Bill No.: SB 1350
Subject: Education, Elementary and Secondary: Elementary and Secondary Education Dept; Environmental Protection
Type: Original
Date: March 8, 2004
FISCAL SUMMARY
| FY 2005 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 | |
| General Revenue | ($1,355,095) | ($2,628,372) | ($2,630,697) |
| Total Estimated
Net Effect on General Revenue Fund |
($1,355,095) | ($2,628,372) | ($2,630,697) |
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2005 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| Total Estimated
Net Effect on Other State Funds |
$0 | $0 | $0 |
Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.
This fiscal note contains 5 pages.
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2005 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| Total Estimated
Net Effect on All Federal Funds |
$0 | $0 | $0 |
| FUND AFFECTED | FY 2005 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| Local Government* | (Unknown) | (Unknown) | (Unknown) |
*Could exceed $100,000
ASSUMPTION
Officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education made the following assumptions regarding this proposal:
DESE assumes it could obtain air quality test kits for $20 each. There are currently 2,289 school buildings, each of which have multiple rooms. For estimation purposes DESE assumes each building has ten rooms.
2,289 school buildings x $20.00 x 10 rooms = $457,800
DESE further assumes new construction will be required to accommodate HVAC systems necessary to provide 20 cubic feet per minute of fresh air into any building. Fresh air testing would require a Carbon Dioxide Emissions Meter, which would have to be used at various places within the building. Costs could approximate 25 cents per square foot with the average square footage of school buildings being 12,500.
2,289 school buildings x 12,500 square feet x $0.25 = $7,153,125
The proposal requires testing once every three years. DESE assumes these costs would be spread out over a three-year period; therefore, costs to implement the proposal could be allocated as ASSUMPTION (continued)
follows:
$7,610,925 / 3 years = $2,536,975 per year
DESE assumes it will require 2.0 Supervisor FTE and 1.0 Adminstrative Assistant FTE to evaluate the indoor air quality of every school in this state a minimum of one time every three years; to establish standards for indoor air quality; to develop procedures for complaints; to prepare reports no later than 60 days after the inspection; to send the reports to the school's principal, school board, state board of education, and the person filing the complaint; and to make the reports public.
The proposal requires any school not meeting the standards to remedy the air quality problem not more than 60 days after the school's principal receives the report. DESE cannot estimate these potential costs, but assumes they could be significant.
Oversight assumes the inspections and administrative duties could be conducted by one Supervisor and one Administrative Assistant. Oversight assumes:
2,289 school buildings / 3years / 174 school days = 4-5 buildings per day for inspection. This should leave ample time for report preparation. Oversight also assumes actual inspections may not occur until the second half of FY 2005 in order to allow time to establish standards and develop procedures.
Oversight has also, for fiscal note purposes only, adjusted the salary and benefits of the supervisor and the administrative assistant to correspond with the range for starting salaries paid by DESE in 2002 for comparable positions.
In response to an identical proposal, officials from the Department of Health and Senior Services (DOHSS) stated this proposal does not pertain to any of their bureaus, therefore would not have a fiscal impact on their agency. They further stated that DOHSS has no statutory authority to do inspections of schools. The only time DOHSS would become involved in school air quality issues could be if a situation occurred that would come under the communicable disease rule.
| FISCAL IMPACT - State Government | FY 2005
(10 Mo.) |
FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| GENERAL REVENUE | |||
| Cost - Elementary and Secondary Education - Air Quality Inspections | |||
| Personal Expenses | ($48,308) | ($59,149) | ($60,905) |
| Fringe Benefits | ($19,550) | ($24,047) | ($24,648) |
| Equipment & Expense | ($18,749) | ($7,931) | ($8,169) |
| Air Testing Costs | ($1,268,488) | ($2,536,975) | ($2,536,975) |
| ($1,355,095) | ($2,628,372) | ($2,630,697) | |
| ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON GENERAL REVENUE |
($1,355,095) |
($2,628,372) |
($2,630,697) |
| FISCAL IMPACT - Local Government | FY 2005
(10 Mo.) |
FY 2006 | FY 2007 |
| SCHOOL DISTRICTS | |||
| Cost - Air Quality Remediation | (Unknown) | (Unknown) | (Unknown) |
| ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON SCHOOL DISTRICTS* |
(Unknown) |
(Unknown) |
(Unknown) |
* Could exceed $100,000
FISCAL IMPACT - Small Business
Small businesses dealing with air quality issues could see a positive fiscal impact as a result of this proposal.
DESCRIPTION
This proposal requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to adopt an indoor air quality program beginning January 1, 2006. Schools would be inspected and evaluated at least once every three years. DESE would develop procedures for handling complaints about air quality and establish minimum standards for air quality that are no less than
the standards promulgated by specified national building and safety codes. Reports of the inspection results will be made public and sent to the building principal, the local and state
school boards, DESE, and to persons filing complaints. Problems must be remedied within 60 days of receipt of the report.
DESCRIPTION (continued)
This legislation is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Department of Health and Senior Services
Mickey Wilson, CPA
Director
March 8, 2004