LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  February 3, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Teel Bivins, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 232
          Committee on Education                              By: Carona
          Senate
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
         In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB232 ( Relating to an
optional majority vote requirement for election of trustees in certain independent
school districts.) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB232-As Introduced
         
             No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         
         
         
 
          
             The fiscal implication to units of local government is described below.

Bill Summary

This bill would amend Section 11.057 of the Texas Education Code to allow
single-member or by-place independent school districts electing trustees to
modify their voting rules to permit the adoption of a majority (as opposed to
a plurality) vote requirement.

This legislation would take effect September 1, 1997.

History

By-place systems previously were allowed to elect by majority but this
language was not retained in Senate Bill 1 (1995).  Thus, under current
law, the Election Code's general provision that candidates win by plurality
unless otherwise provided prevails.  This bill would restore majority vote
as an option but without the previous language that the action could not
be rescinded.  Instead, the school board could rescind the action later.  

Administrative Costs to Local Government

Districts that chose a majority vote requirement could incur additional costs
due to special elections for races in which no candidate receives a majority
vote.  No information is available as to the number of districts that could
choose this option or the number of special elections that could be necessary
from such decisions.  

Local election costs vary widely by district.  If a special election is held on
the same date as another state or local election, there would be no significant
fiscal impact to the local government to add the language associated with this
item to the ballot.  If the election were held specifically for the purpose of
electing district trustees, the local government would absorb all costs associated
with the election.  According to data collected in a random survey of eight
counties conducted by the Texas Association of Counties, the cost of a local
option election ranges from approximately $0.12 per county resident to $1.14
per county resident, with a median per county resident cost of $0.40.  Per
resident local school district election costs are estimated to be equal to per
resident county election costs.  

Continuing Fiscal Implications - Local

The fiscal implications described above would likely continue beyond 2002.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   307   Secretary of State
                                         701   Texas Education Agency - Administration
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,LP ,GJ ,DH