LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
March 2, 1999
TO: Honorable Juan Hinojosa, Chair, House Committee on
Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: HB424 by Turner, Bob (Relating to the imposition of a
cost of court on criminal convictions and the creation of
a fund for the payment of extraordinary costs of
prosecution in certain counties.), As Introduced
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* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* HB424, As Introduced: positive impact of $0 through the biennium *
* ending August 31, 2001. *
* *
* The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal *
* basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of *
* the bill. *
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General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2000 $0 *
* 2001 0 *
* 2002 0 *
* 2003 0 *
* 2004 0 *
****************************************************
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
***********************************************************************
*Fiscal Probable Probable Probable Probable Change in *
* Year Revenue Savings/ Revenue Savings/ Number of *
* Gain/(Loss) (Cost) from Gain/(Loss) (Cost) from State *
* to Extraordin- to Counties Counties Employees *
* Extraordin- ary Costs from FY 1999 *
* ary Costs of *
* of Prosecution *
* Prosecution - GR *
* - GR Dedicated *
* Dedicated Account *
* Account *
* 2000 $903,000 $(903,000) $100,000 $0 0.0 *
* 2001 1,575,000 (1,575,000) 175,000 0 0.0 *
* 2002 1,575,000 (1,575,000) 175,000 0 0.0 *
* 2003 1,575,000 (1,575,000) 175,000 0 0.0 *
* 2004 1,589,000 (1,589,000) 177,000 0 0.0 *
***********************************************************************
Technology Impact
The Comptroller of Public Accounts would incur one-time programming
expenses adding this new revenue account to the state-wide financial
applications. However, these costs can be absorbed within existing
resources.
Fiscal Analysis
This bill would create a new dedicated account in the General Revenue
Fund and a new dedicated revenue source in the State Treasury, the
Extraordinary Costs of Prosecution Account. Funds in this account could
only be appropriated to the Criminal Justice Division of the Office of
the Governor, and only used to make grants to eligible counties to offset
the cost of prosecuting capital murder cases. Defendants convicted of a
felony would be required to pay a court cost of $5. Also, those
convicted of a misdemeanor offense, other than parking or
pedestrian-related offenses or an offense tried in a municipal court,
would be required to pay a court cost of $1.
Additional expenses incurred by the Comptroller of Public Accounts or the
Office of the Governor's Criminal Justice Division can be absorbed
within existing resources.
Methodology
Comptroller of Public Accounts and Office of Court Administration records
were analyzed to determine the impact of this bill on state and local
governments.
The estimate assumes that the Governor's Office will distribute all funds
to local governments in the form of grants.
Local Government Impact
Local governments would gain 10 percent of the amount collected and all
interest accrued as a collection fee. In addition, grant distribution
would be received from the Governor's Criminal Justice Division.
Additional gains from disbursements out of the new account would require
an appropriation.
Source Agencies:
LBB Staff: JK, MD, ZS, CT, PH