LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session March 15, 1999 TO: Honorable Senfronia Thompson, Chair, House Committee on Judicial Affairs FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB1477 by Oliveira (Relating to the amount of court costs imposed for the support of the county law library.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** FISCAL ANALYSIS The bill would allow a county commissioners court to raise the maximum amount of court costs which can be charged in civil suits for the support of the county law library from the current $20 to $35. METHODOLOGY State agencies could be liable for additional court costs in civil cases in which the state would not prevail. The cost would depend on the number of cases in which the state would not prevail in counties that would choose to raise court costs. The additional cost to the state is not anticipated to be significant, according to the Attorney General's Office. Local Government Impact In fiscal year 1998, there were 459,546 new civil cases filed in the district and county courts (364,676 in District and 94,870 in County). Applying the $15 increase to the 1998 filings, the potential revenue to county law library funds statewide is approximately $6,893,190. This assumes that all commissioners courts decide to increase the fee in all district and county courts. The impact on each county would depend on the amount of the fee currently being collected, and the amount of the increase, if any, approved by the commissioner's court. The six counties listed below, all currently charging the maximum $20 fee, estimate that if the commissioners court would choose to increase the fee to the $35 maximum permitted by the bill, the probable annual revenue gain would be as follows: Travis County $200,000 - $220,000 Potter County $40,000 - $50,000 Collin County $80,000 - $90,000 Washington County $3,500 - $5,000 Tarrant County $420,000 - $440,000 Denton County $88,500 Harris County, which currently charges only $15 per case, reports that the bill would have no impact, since the county is not likely to raise the fee beyond $20. Source Agencies: LBB Staff: JK, PE, TL