LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  April 4, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Ron E. Lewis, Chair            IN RE:  House Bill No. 704, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
          Committee on County Affairs                              By: Lewis, Ron
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB704 ( Relating 
to the ability of voters in certain counties to petition a commissioners 
court to increase the salary of members of the county sheriff's 
department.) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB704-Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
         
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
          
This bill would grant to voters in counties with populations 
between 25,000 and 30,000 authority, currently given to voters 
in counties with populations greater than 30,000, to petition 
the commissioners court for an increase in the minimum salary 
of each member of the sheriff's department.  In a county where 
the voters petition and approve such increases, this would result 
in increased payroll and benefits costs to the county.

This 
bill also would provide that elections regarding the salaries 
of members of a sheriff's department be held on the same day 
on which an election is scheduled to be held throughout the 
county for other purposes.  This would result in savings in 
election costs to counties over 25,000 population statewide 
that hold elections regarding the minimum salary of sheriff's 
department members, since current law provides that such issues 
be decided in separate elections.  This savings would depend 
on county population, with a county expecting to save $0.40 
per resident, or the median cost of a local election as calculated 
based on a survey by the Texas Association of Counties.  
          
   Source:            Agencies:   
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,TL