LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  May 5, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Senfronia Thompson, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 1304, As Engrossed
          Committee on Judicial Affairs                              By: Ellis
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB1304 ( Relating 
to funds tendered into the registry of the court.) this office 
has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB1304-As Engrossed
         
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
          
The bill would require county and district clerks to transfer 
certain registry funds into interest-bearing accounts and to 
allocate 10 percent of interest earnings on such accounts to 
a county's general fund to compensate for accounting and administrative 
expenses.  The remaining 90 percent of the interest would be 
credited to a special or separate account designated for the 
beneficiary of the account.

Because many of the transactions 
subject to these provisions involve relatively small amounts 
of money, the 10 percent portion of earned interest allocated 
to a county could, in some cases, fail to cover the cost of 
required administration.  Denton County estimates that the bill 
could, consequently, have a negative fiscal impact of $25,000 
per year.

Although counties currently do not earn interest 
on funds in the registry of the court, some counties do earn 
earnings credits with the bank in which such funds are deposited. 
 These credits are earned at approximately the same interest 
rates as regular accounts.  While not considered cash, such 
earnings credits can be used to purchase bank services such 
as checks and armored car services at costs equal to those the 
bank would charge for a customer paying with cash.  The Dallas 
County Treasurer reports using $1.3 million in earnings credits 
in fiscal year 1996.  The County predicts that it would receive 
only 10 percent of such earnings as a result of this bill's 
passage, resulting in a net annual loss in earnings credits 
of approximately $1.2 million.

Travis County reports that 
the bill would result in no fiscal impact to the county.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,PE ,TL