LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  May 26, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Bob Bullock            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 436, As Passed 2nd House
          Lieutenant Governor                Lucio
          Senate
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB436 ( Relating 
to the preservation and restoration of certain public documents 
filed with a county clerk.) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB436-As Passed 2nd House
         
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
The bill would allow county clerks to set and collect a records 
archive fee from any person, filing a public document with a 
county clerk, excluding a state agency.  The fee could be imposed 
beginning September 1,1997 and ending September 1, 2004.  The 
fee would be deposited into a separate account in the county 
general fund and could be used only for the preservation and 
restoration of public documents filed with the county clerk 
before January 1, 1990.  The bill would take effect September 
1, 1997.
          
Assuming that all counties would collect the fee, and that all 
counties would charge the maximum permitted amount of $10, the 
bill would result in increased revenue to county governments 
of between $40 million to $43 million in fiscal year 1998, and 
revenues would likely continue at approximately the same level 
for the first five years the provisions of the bill are in place.

The 
estimated impact to local governments was derived by estimating 
the amount of revenue that would be generated in nine representative 
counties and calculating the statewide impact on local governments 
based on that sample.  Estimates of potential revenue were  
provided by the Travis County Clerk's Office and the State Library 
and Archives Commission. 

There could be some costs to counties 
associated with the annual written plan requirement for the 
Records Management and Preservation Fund and the Records Archive 
Fund.  However, such costs are not expected to be significant.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,TL ,JA