LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  May 2, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Paul Sadler, Chair            IN RE:  House Bill No. 939, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
          Committee on Public Education                              By: Flores
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on HB939 ( Relating 
to jury service by public school employees.) this office has 
detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by HB939-Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
         
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

         
To the extent that local districts incur additional teacher 
salary costs, the state will be responsible for additional payments 
to the Teacher Retirement System (TRS).
         
 
          
The probable impact to units of local government is described 
below.

This bill would prohibit a school district from discharging, 
disciplining, reducing the compensation of, or otherwise penalizing 
or discriminating against a school district employee because 
of the employee's compliance with a summons to appear as a juror. 
 The bill would further require that a school district pay an 
employee at the usual rate of compensation for each regularly 
scheduled work day on which an employee serves in any phase 
of jury service.  The bill would explicitly prohibit reduction 
of an employee's accumulated personal leave because of the employee's 
service in compliance with a summons to appear as a juror.

This 
legislation would take effect beginning with the 1997-98 school 
year.

To determine the extent to which school districts are 
already providing compensation and/or not reducing personal 
leave during jury service, five of the largest school districts 
in the state were contacted to determine their policies regarding 
jury service.  Of the five districts contacted, all provided 
compensation at the normal level for all types of employees 
during jury service.  Four of the five districts do not require 
employees to take personal leave for any phase of jury service. 
 One district did require employees to use personal leave for 
jury service.

On the basis of this sampling of large districts, 
it appears that many school district employees are currently 
afforded the compensation and leave protection that would be 
provided under this bill.  However, it is also assumed that 
there are districts that are not compensating employees and/or 
are requiring employees to use personal leave for time spent 
in jury service.  Those districts that do not currently provide 
the compensation and/or require the use of accumulated personal 
leave would incur new costs as a result of the bill.

As an 
approximation of the effect of requiring compensation and prohibiting 
a reduction of accumulated personal leave, the average base 
pay for all types of school district employees for school year 
1996-97 is about $144 per day.  This figure is based on an average 
annual base pay for all types of employees of $26,719 and assumes 
an average annual employment period of about 185 days (statutory 
definition of a 10-month contract).  In addition to the base 
pay of $144 per day, the state or a district could incur costs 
associated with applicable TRS contributions, any supplemental 
pay the employee was receiving, and/or substitute teacher pay 
at an average rate of about $55 per day or other temporary employee 
costs.

The fiscal implications described above would be likely 
to continue beyond 2002.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   701   Texas Education Agency - Administration
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,DH