COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

OVERSIGHT DIVISION

FISCAL NOTE

L.R. No.: 1073-02

Bill No.: Truly Agreed to and Finally Passed HCS for HB 332

Subject: Economic Development Dept.; Licenses - Professional

Type: Original

Date: April 29, 2003

FISCAL SUMMARY

Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.

This fiscal note contains 5 pages.

ASSUMPTION

Officials from the Department of Corrections did not respond to our fiscal impact request.

Officials from the Department of Economic Development - Division of Professional Registration, Office of the State Public Defender, Office of the State Courts Administrator, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Mental Health assume the proposal would have no fiscal impact on their agencies.

Officials from the Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC) anticipate this proposal will not significantly alter its caseload.

Officials from the Office of Prosecution Services indicate any costs to prosecutors resulting from this proposal could be absorbed.

Officials from the Department of Social Services - Division of Family Services (DFS) assume the proposal may require changes to the personnel system if it is found that agency staff can no longer be referred to as Social Service Workers, Social Work Specialists or Social Service Supervisors. DFS states if agency titles were required to change, items including the title, such ASSUMPTION (continued)

as business cards and identification badges, would need to be replaced. In addition, changes to wording in the agency policy manuals may be required. DFS notes there is a lack of definition (in the proposal) of the forms of the title that prevent calculating an exact impact. DFS assumes the impact would be less than $100,000 annually.

Oversight assumes any cost arising from the need to replace/update business cards, identification badges, letterhead and policy manuals could be paid from existing resources. Oversight further assumes any such cost should be incurred in fiscal years 2004 and 2005 only.

Officials from the Office of Administration - Division of Personnel (OA) assume .50 FTE would be required for six months if this proposal is enacted. OA states enactment of this proposal would likely require several job titles to be changed, resulting in some administrative costs associated with reprinting class specifications and amending affected employee records. OA states in some cases, the current qualifying educational and/or experiential requirements may have to be revised to restrict it to licensed individuals only, but further analysis is required to assess impact on those classes and some current employees. OA states there could be costs to user agencies associated with retraining some employees or assisting them in obtaining licensure. It is unclear whether any unlicensed employee affected by this legislation would be grand fathered in, or if they would have to be reassigned to a non-licensed position if they could not obtain licensure. OA states such contingencies would result in additional costs for the agencies; however, OA states they are not able to estimate the costs. OA states given the brief time frame between enactment and the January 1, 2004, deadline, it would be necessary for us to recruit, on a temporary basis of six months, an experienced classification analyst to independently review positions, draft revisions to class specifications, and to work with the affected agencies to ensure compliance with the statute. OA assumes the temporary personnel analyst would cost General Revenue $18,000 in FY 2004.

Oversight assumes any additional duties imposed on OA could be performed by existing staff. Oversight notes OA's assumption of "contingent" costs which could affect state agencies is speculative. Oversight assumes any costs to state agencies resulting from this proposal could, likewise, be absorbed.

FISCAL IMPACT - Small Business

Small businesses who employ "social workers," either in a paid or unpaid status, may realize an administrative impact resulting from ensuring such staff are accredited according to the requirements of this proposal.

DESCRIPTION

This proposal prohibits any person from holding themselves out as being a social worker or using the title of "social worker" unless the person holds a current license in baccalaureate or clinical

social work issued by the State Committee for Social Workers or holds a degree from an accredited social work program approved by the Council on Social Work Education.

Beginning January 1, 2004, no entity, public or private, may use the title of "social worker" for volunteer or employment positions within contracts for services, documents, manuals, or reference material unless those persons being referred to have met all educational requirements set forth by the proposal.

This proposal also defines "social worker."

This proposal is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Office of the State Public Defender

Office of the State Courts Administrator

Missouri State Highway Patrol

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Department of Social Services

Department of Mental Health

Office of Administration

- Administrative Hearing Commission

- Division of Personnel

Office of Prosecution Services

Department of Economic Development - Division of Professional Registration

NOT RESPONDING

Department of Corrections

Mickey Wilson, CPA

Director

April 29, 2003