LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session April 14, 1999 TO: Honorable Toby Goodman, Chair, House Committee on Juvenile Justice & Family Issues FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB2442 by Goodman (Relating to the administration and funding of a premarital education handbook and certain marital education courses.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted ************************************************************************** * Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for * * HB2442, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: 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. * ************************************************************************** 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 Revenue Gain/(Loss) to Probable Savings/(Cost) to the * * Year the new Family Trust Fund new Family Trust Fund * * 2000 $575,700 $(287,850) * * 2001 583,950 (291,975) * * 2002 592,350 (296,175) * * 2003 600,900 (300,450) * * 2004 609,600 (304,800) * *************************************************************************** Fiscal Analysis The bill would amend the Family Code to provide for the administration and funding of a premarital education handbook and marital education courses. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) would be required distribute to each marriage license applicant a premarital education handbook. The bill would create the Family Trust Fund with the State Comptroller but administered by the Attorney General. The fund would consist of revenue derived from $3 of each marriage license fee. The bill would increase the marriage license fee by $5, to $30 from $25. Methodology The number of handbooks needed is based on the number of people who will be married in Texas during the fiscal years 2000 - 2004. There were 367,634 people married in Texas during 1997 and the average annual increase over the previous three years was 1.44 percent. Carrying this rate of increase into the future years (compounding annually), there will be approximately 1,975,000 people married in Texas during fiscal years 2000 - 2004. There were 183,817 marriage license applications in 1997 and again the average annual increase over the previous three years was 1.44 percent. Carrying this rate of increase into the future years (compounding annually), there will be approximately 987,500 marriage license applications during the five year period Fiscal Year 2000 - 2004. The Office of Attorney General would have to draft text in order to create the premarital education handbook. The handbook would also have to be produced, with a printing and a distribution cost of $0.75 per copy. The handbook is required to be distributed to each marriage license applicant. There would be $3.00 deposited in the Family Trust Fund from each marriage license application. The difference between the $3.00 deposit and the $1.50 cost to produce two handbooks for the marriage applicants is $1.50. Therefore, $1.50 from each application would be used to cover the cost of the handbooks and the other $1.50 would be revenue for the Family Trust Fund. Local Government Impact It was assumed that the revenues from the remaining $2 of the proposed $5 marriage license fee increase would remain with the counties, generating $366,000, annually. Source Agencies: 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 302 Office Of The Attorney General LBB Staff: JK, MD, SC