FISCAL NOTE

Date Requested: January 28, 2019
Time Requested: 12:59 PM
Agency: Education, WV Department of
CBD Number: Version: Bill Number: Resolution Number:
2454 Introduced HB2688
CBD Subject: Education (K12)


FUND(S):

0317

Sources of Revenue:

General Fund

Legislation creates:

Creates New Expense, Increases Existing Expenses



Fiscal Note Summary


Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.


The estimated cost to the State under the Public School Support Plan (PSSP) to consider air conditioning in the bus replacement funding calculation is $1,553,885 for the 2019-20 school year and thereafter. The estimated one-time cost to the county boards of education to add air conditioning to buses in the current bus fleet by the end of the 2019 fiscal year is an additional $30,991,390.



Fiscal Note Detail


Effect of Proposal Fiscal Year
2019
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
2020
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation)
1. Estmated Total Cost 30,991,390 1,553,885 32,545,275
Personal Services 0 0 0
Current Expenses 0 1,553,885 1,553,885
Repairs and Alterations 0 0 0
Assets 0 0 0
Other 30,991,390 0 30,991,390
2. Estimated Total Revenues 0 0 0


Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):


County boards of education are provided bus replacement funding through Step 4 of the Public School Support Plan (PSSP) based on a 12 year replacement cycle. In general, each county board receives 8.33% (1/12th) of the current replacement value of each school bus in the county's fleet annually depending on the age and mileage of the bus. If air conditioning were to be required on school buses due to passage of this bill, then air conditioning would be included in the base bus bid values that are received by the WVDE Office of Facilities and Transportation each year and would therefore increase the replacement value of each bus. Based on the most current fleet data and the age of the buses, 2,857 buses qualify for bus replacement funding in FY20. If this proposed legislation passes, the total estimated cost to the State under Step 4 of the PSSP for the increase in bus replacement funding will be $1,553,885. The proposed legislation requires air conditioning be installed on all school buses by the end of the 2019 fiscal year (June 30,2019). Absent a supplemental appropriation by the Legislature during the 2019 fiscal year for this purpose, county boards of education would be solely responsible for the cost of installing air conditioning on any of the buses in their fleet that do not already have air conditioning. A survey of the county boards of education revealed that 661 of the 3,904 buses statewide already have air conditioning units on the bus. This means that air conditioning units would need installed on 3,243 existing buses in order to be in compliance with this bill by the end of FY2019. The estimated cost to the county boards to install air conditioning units on buses that do not already have air conditioning is $30,991,390. This statewide cost estimate was developed using cost estimates provided by the three major bus vendors (BlueBird, International and Matheny Motors) for what it would cost to retrofit existing buses of various seating capacities and body types with air conditioning, and aligning those cost estimates with the makeup of the county bus fleets across the state. The weighted average cost to retrofit a bus with air conditioning is $9,556. The cost impact by county board of education varies depending on the size and makeup of their bus fleet. In addition to these quantifiable costs, it is anticipated that the annual transportation repairs and maintenance costs will increase slightly due to the addition of air conditioning units on ail of the buses. We are unable to quantify at this time what the potential increase in costs may be, but any increase in the costs incurred to repair and maintain the air conditioning units will increase the cost to the State under Step 4 of the PSSP.



Memorandum






    Person submitting Fiscal Note: Brenda Freed
    Email Address: bfreed@k12.wv.us