FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: March 02, 2021
Time Requested: 11:29 AM |
| Agency: |
Education, WV State Board of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2511 |
Introduced |
HB2815 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
|
|---|
|
FUND(S):
0317
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
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 include air conditioning in the bus replacement funding calculation is $1,483,655 for the 2021-22 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 2021 fiscal year is an additional $36,543,221.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2021
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2022
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
36,543,221 |
1,483,655 |
38,026,876 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
1,483,655 |
1,483,655 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
36,543,221 |
0 |
36,543,221 |
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, 2,801 buses qualify for bus replacement funding in FY22. 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 $1,483,655.
The proposed legislation requires air conditioning be installed on all school buses by the end of the 2021 fiscal year (June 30, 2021). Absent a supplemental appropriation by the Legislature during the 2021 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 868 of the 3,983 buses statewide already have air conditioning units on the bus. This means that air conditioning units would need installed on 3,115 existing buses in order to be in compliance with this bill by the end of FY2021. The estimated cost to the county boards to install air conditioning units on buses that do not already have air conditioning is $36,543,221. 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 $11,733. 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 all 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
The proposed legislation requires all buses to have air conditioning by June 30, 2021. This allows only a few months for county boards of education to install air conditioning on 3,115 existing buses in the fleet which do not currently have air conditioning. This would be impossible to accomplish. If the Legislature wishes to require air conditioning on buses, the deadline for compliance would need to be extended or only required for new buses purchased after July 1, 2021.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Amy Willard
Email Address: awillard@k12.wv.us