NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature.  The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used in any other situation.





F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T





SPONSOR   Senator McKibben         DATE TYPED 01/20/99 HB           



SHORT TITLE Parks and Wildlife Department        SB  34             



                  ANALYST  Valenzuela     



APPROPRIATION



Estimated

Appropriation Contained   Additional Impact  Recurring Fund

FY99 FY2000 FY99 FY2000 or Non-Rec Affected



$  . $ . $ . $ Indeter.     



(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)



Relates to SB16, HB38



SOURCES OF INFORMATION



LFC Files

Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)

Department of Game and Fish



SUMMARY



Synopsis of Bill



The bill would merge the State Parks Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) with the Department of Game and Fish to create a new department, the Park and Wildlife department. The bill also makes changes to the advisory committee's which currently exist for both organizations, and makes other organizational changes.



Significant Issues



The transition issues will require a significant planning effort to better match each of the organizations administrative, financial, and management systems. The transition costs are unknown.



EMNRD has been criticized for decertifying and closing several state parks without providing opportunities for public comments on the proposals. When citizens demanded public hearings on park decertification, EMNRD ignored citizen comments in the hearing. The Department of Game and Fish too has been criticized for not being focused on conservation and stewardship of the state natural resources.



FISCAL IMPLICATIONS



The bill would reduce EMNRD's operating budget from $39.5 million to $20.6 million and decrease its staff from 468 FTE to 194 FTE. The table below presents the budget and FTE level for each of the EMNRD divisions:



Division Budget % of Total FTE % of Total
100 $ 1,582.3 4.0% 10.0 2.1%
200 $ 2,337.9 5.9% 36.0 7.7%
300 $ 3,350.8 8.5% 11.0 2.4%
400 $ 3,991.3 10.1% 60.0 12.8%
500 $17,729.9 44.8% 256.0 54.7%
600 $ 3,717.2 9.4% 29.0 6.2%
700 $ 4,822.3 12.2% 64.0 13.7%
800 $ 2,014.1 5.1% 2.0 0.4%
$39,545.8 100.0% 468.0 100.0%


The SPD, (division 500, highlighted above) contains 44.8 percent of EMNRD's budget and 54.7 percent its staff. EMNRD has not identified the portion of its administrative services division which may need to be transferred with SPD. The LFC staff estimates a transfer of $1.1 million and 19.7 FTE would be required for administrative support. The bill does not specify transfer of these funds or staff.



Budget FTE

State Parks Division $17,729.9 256.0

Portion of ASD $ 1,047.4 19.7

$18,777.3 274.0



The Department of Game and Fish budget is approximately $21.7 million with 256.50 FTE.



TECHNICAL ISSUES



Both the State Parks Division and the Department of Game and Fish presented technical issues with the bill.



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