FISCAL NOTE
FUND(S):
$1,500,000
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Neither Program nor Fund
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
This bill would establish a higher education assistance reimbursement program, hereafter referred to as the "HEAR" program to provide reimbursement to institutions of higher education for qualifying non-capital expenditures incurred in the provision of services to students with physical, learning, or severe sensory disabilities.
The proposed bill does not establish a certain level of funding; rather it establishes a formula approach for the pro-rata reimbursement of expenditures by the institutions based upon the level of funds appropriated. Thus the true cost of the program to the State will vary annually based upon funding appropriations.
With new HIPPA regulations and concerns over student privacy, ADA coordinators at the public higher education institutions are reluctant to quantify how many students have declared physical and/or learning disabilities. In fact central data is not captured by institutions except within the ADA offices. A 2003 survey in response to a comparable fiscal note quantified that there were approximately 1900 special needs students. Services are provided when student requests accommodations therefore the number of students (and the non-capital expenditures spent for special needs) will fluctuate annually.
For purposes of developing an initial potential cost estimate, based upon previous surveys, the estimated non-capital annual cost of providing services to students is approximately $1.5 million system-wide. These expenditures may increase if additional students are encouraged to attend higher education institutions and if reimbursement plans are put in place for the institutions.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2005
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2006
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
1,500,000 |
1,500,000 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
1,000,000 |
1,000,000 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
500,000 |
500,000 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
Memorandum
Clarification of the level of audit required for expenditures should be added. Any requirement for a full, external, independent audit would significantly increase the cost of the bill.
Should the bill be passed, implementation dates would need to change from the bill’s current implementation date of July 1, 2003.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Patricia W. Hunt
Email Address: phunt@hepc.wvnet.edu