LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  February 11, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Bill Ratliff, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 263, Committee Report 1st House
          Committee on Finance                              By: Zaffirini
          Senate
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB263 ( relating 
to the creation of an appellate judicial system for the Fourth 
Court of Appeals District.) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB263-Committee Report 1st House
         
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
The bill would require the commissioners court of each of the 
32 counties within the Fourth Court of Appeals District, San 
Antonio, to establish an appellate judicial system.  The purpose 
of the appellate judicial systems would be to assist the Fourth 
Court of Appeals in processing appeals and defray costs and 
expenses incurred by the appeals court.   To fund the system, 
commissioners courts would set a fee of not more than $5 for 
each civil suit filed in county court, probate court, or district 
court, except for a suit for delinquent taxes. Based on the 
number of cases filed in fiscal year 1996 in the counties comprising 
the Fourth Court of Appeals District, and assuming the court 
cost could be collected on 75% of cases, the court would receive 
approximately $270,000 a year if the fee was set at $5.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,RR