LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
March 3, 1999
TO: Honorable Debra Danburg, Chair, House Committee on
Elections
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: HB1699 by Danburg (Relating to certain voter
registration processes and procedures), As Introduced
**************************************************************************
* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* HB1699, As Introduced: negative impact of $(3,848,304) 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. *
**************************************************************************
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2000 $(2,468,304) *
* 2001 (1,380,000) *
* 2002 (2,124,000) *
* 2003 (1,380,000) *
* 2004 (2,124,000) *
****************************************************
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
*****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Savings/(Cost) from *
* General Revenue Fund *
* 0001 *
* 2000 $(2,468,304) *
* 2001 (1,380,000) *
* 2002 (2,124,000) *
* 2003 (1,380,000) *
* 2004 (2,124,000) *
*****************************************************
Fiscal Analysis
The bill revises various provisions within the Election Code. Various
provisions within the bill would have a fiscal impact by requiring the
Secretary of State to:
Mail voter registration application forms printed on the largest business
reply postcard permitted by the United States Postal Service for voter
registration by mail;
Include within the master file of registered voters information regarding
the history of participation in elections for each registrant and a
listing of each electoral district or territory where each registrant
resides;
Prescribe a coding system for including registrant voting history and
voting districts in the master file;
Provide information from the master file of registered voters to Voter
Registrars in the format (electronic or hard copy) requested by the
registrar;
Develop a procedure for registrants to maintain the same registration
number and, if possible, retain that number upon moving to another
county; and
Study and report on feasibility of standard electronic format to identify
duplicate registrations by December 1, 2000.
The bill would also modify the amounts paid from General Revenue to
registrars for initial voter registrations, cancellations and other
modifications to voter registrations, in the following manner:
Reduce amounts paid from 25 cents to 15 cents for each initial
registration;
Increase amounts paid from 40 cents to 50 cents for each cancellation;
Increase amounts paid from 40 cents to 50 cents per registration update;
and
In even numbered years, increase amounts paid from 40 cents to 50 cents
multiplied by the difference between the current number of registered
voters and the number of initial registrations certified for the previous
two voting years.
The bill would impose a $500 penalty on each state agency that registers
voters for violation of provisions relating to voter registration. The
bill would authorize the Comptroller to delete the penalty from the
accounts of agencies.
Methodology
The Secretary of State, SOS, estimates the bill would result in increased
postage costs totaling $1,320,000 for approximately 6,000,000 postcards
mailed annually at an increased cost of 22 cents each for the largest
voter registration postcard allowed. The agency estimates that the cost
of printing 6,000,000 voter registration postcards at 3 cents per card
would total about $180,000.
The SOS anticipates the bill would require modifications to the Texas
Voter Registration System in order to include voting history data for
each registered voter and each electoral district or territory where each
registered voter resides. The SOS estimates making this modification by
the effective date of the bill would require 5,702.4 programming hours
at a contract rate of $60 per hour for a total cost of $342,144. The SOS
reports that agency personnel could not make the required modifications
in house prior to the effective date of the bill. The SOS also estimates
that the bill would require 7.2 GB of additional disk space to store the
data at a cost of $2,160.
The Comptroller of Public Accounts estimated the impact due to
modification of the payments the Comptroller makes to Voter Registrars
per each initial voter registration, for each cancellation and for other
modifications to registration lists. The Comptroller estimates the
payment modification would result in a negative fiscal impact to General
Revenue of $624,000 in fiscal year 2000 and in each subsequent even
numbered fiscal year; and a positive fiscal impact of $120,000 to General
Revenue each odd numbered fiscal year. According to the Comptroller,
these amounts are based upon actual voter registration activity
statements filed for fiscal years 1997 and 1998.
Combining the fiscal impacts anticipated by the SOS and the Comptroller
results in an aggregate negative fiscal impact each year but the amount
fluctuates due to the Comptroller's projection of costs and savings in
alternating years. In fiscal year 2000, the Comptroller anticipates
costs of $624,000 and the SOS anticipates costs of $1,320,000 (postage),
$180,000 (printing), $342,144 (voter registration system revisions) and
$2,160 (disk space) for a total cost of $2,468,304. For each subsequent
year, the SOS projects the mailing and printing costs for combined costs
of $1.5 million each year. The Comptroller projects cost savings of
$120,000 in fiscal years 2001 and 2003 and costs of $624,000 in fiscal
years 2002 and 2004. Combining the two projections results in costs of
$1,380,000 ($1.5 million in costs - $120,000 in savings) in fiscal years
2001 and 2003. The combined projections result in costs of $2,124,000
($1.5 million in costs + $624,000 in costs) in fiscal years 2002 and
2004.
Local Government Impact
The Comptroller estimated the impact on local government due to
modification of the payments made to registrars per each initial
registration of voter, for each cancellation and for other modifications
to registration lists, based on actual voter registration activity
statements filed for fiscal years 1997 and 1998. The local government
impacts are the reverse of those estimated impacts to the General
Revenue Fund above; that is, positive impact of $624,000 in even
numbered years and negative impact of $120,000 in odd numbered years.
Source Agencies:
LBB Staff: JK, PE, PH, SG