Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4923 by Moody (Relating to status offenses committed by a child, including the repeal of the status offense of a child voluntarily running away from home.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB4923, As Introduced: a positive impact of $9,844,675 through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2026
$4,887,815
2027
$4,956,860
2028
$5,025,813
2029
$5,094,857
2030
$5,163,810
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2026
$4,887,815
2027
$4,956,860
2028
$5,025,813
2029
$5,094,857
2030
$5,163,810
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would remove voluntarily running away from home from the definition of a child status offense and remove it from conduct indicating need of supervision and therefore would no longer be formally referred to a local juvenile probation office.
According to the Office of Court Administration the fiscal impact to the state court system cannot be determined due to lack of data to project any additional docket volume resulting from the bill's requirements.
Methodology
According to the Legislative Budget Board's data analysis, in fiscal year 2024 there were 2,392 referrals for the conduct of running away from home. The savings assume population trends and cost per formal referral ($1940.28) as stated in the Biennial Report on Juvenile Justice Populations Fiscal Years 2018 to 2030.
Local Government Impact
The bill would require that a youth taken into custody only for a status offense may only be held in a juvenile processing office, place of nonsecure custody, or nonsecure corrections facility.
There may be a fiscal impact to local juvenile probation departments and local law enforcement departments that do not currently have capacity to hold a youth in the manner required by the bill, but the exact amount of impact cannot be determined. Any future impact on juvenile probation departments related to the removal of running away from home from the definition of a child status offense cannot be determined.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council