LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE
75th Regular Session
April 18, 1997
TO: Honorable John T. Smithee, Chair IN RE: House Bill No. 531, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
Committee on Insurance By: Shields
House
Austin, Texas
FROM: John Keel, Director
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB531 ( Relating
to expunction of certain records of the Texas Department of
Insurance.) this office has detemined the following:
Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB531-Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
Implementing the provisions of the bill would result in a net
positive impact of $98,065 to General Revenue Related Funds
through the biennium ending August 31, 1999.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal
basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions
of the bill.
Fiscal Analysis
This bill would add Article 1.10F to the Texas Insurance Code
to allow persons who have violated the Texas Insurance Code,
Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) rules or other laws relating
to insurance to seek expunction of their TDI records if certain
criteria is met. The bill provides that in order to qualify
for expunction, a violation could not have resulted in the assessment
of a monetary penalty against the person.
TDI would have
to hire 1 FTE (0.5 Attorney and 0.5 Administrative Technician)
to handle the increase in workload from persons filing petitions
for expunction and from the State Office of Adminsitrative Hearings
(SOAH) hearings conducted on these petitions. Total costs to
TDI General Revenue Dedicated Fund 036 would be $56,751 in FY
1998 and $41,314 per year thereafter. This includes increased
SOAH costs of $8,960 in FY 1998 and $4,480 per year thereafter.
The
provisions of the bill would require that a person who files
a petition for expunction pay an advance expunction fee to cover
the costs of the SOAH expunction proceedings. TDI assumes that
these fees would be deposited into General Revenue since the
bill does not identify which fund the fees would be deposited
into. The estimated revenue gain to General Revenue would be
$56,752 in FY 1998 and $41,314 per year thereafter.
Methodolgy
Costs to TDI General Revenue Dedicated Fund 036 and related
revenue gains to General Revenue, are based on the following
assumptions:
(1) There would be 32 hearings in FY 1998 and
16 per year thereafter; more hearings are predicted in FY 1998
because TDI anticipates an accelerated petition filing rate
during the first year of implementation.
(2) Revenue generated
from the expunction fee would be deposited into General Revenue.
The probable fiscal implications of implementing the provisions
of the bill during each of the first five years following passage
is estimated as follows:
Five Year Impact:
Fiscal Year Probable Probable Revenue Change in Number
Savings/(Cost) Gain/(Loss) from of State
from Texas General Revenue Employees from
Department of Fund FY 1997
Insurance
Operating
Account/
GR-Dedicated
0036 0001
1998 ($56,751) $56,751 1.0
1998 (41,314) 41,314 1.0
2000 (41,314) 41,314 1.0
2001 (41,314) 41,314 1.0
2002 (41,314) 41,314 1.0
Net Impact on General Revenue Related Funds:
The probable fiscal implication to General Revenue related funds
during each of the first five years is estimated as follows:
Fiscal Year Probable Net Postive/(Negative)
General Revenue Related Funds
Funds
1998 $56,751
1999 41,314
2000 41,314
2001 41,314
2002 41,314
Similar annual fiscal implications would continue as long as
the provisions of the bill are in effect.
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source: Agencies: 454 Department of Insurance
LBB Staff: JK ,TH ,BK