LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  March 7, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Debra Danburg, Chair            IN RE:  House Bill No. 324
          Committee on Elections                              By: Maxey
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB324 ( Relating 
to the days and hours during which early voting by personal 
appearance is conducted in certain municipalities.) this office 
has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB324-As Introduced
         
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
          
This bill would amend the Election Code to provide that in an 
election in which the city secretary serving a city in a county 
with a population of 500,000 or more is the early voting clerk, 
early voting by personal appearance would be conducted on the 
same days and number of hours as personal appearance voting 
for general elections for state and county officers.  This would 
result in early voting being conducted at the main early voting 
polling place for at least 12 hours each weekday for the last 
week of early voting, including at least 12 hours on the last 
Saturday and at least five hours on the last Sunday.  The bill 
would take effect September 1, 1997.

There would be a cost 
of increased personal appearance early voting in cities in the 
six Texas counties which have a population of 500,000 or more, 
which are Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant, El Paso and Travis. 
 Cities in these counties would be required to conduct additional 
hours of early voting.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   307   Secretary of State
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,PE ,JC