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
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* 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. *
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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:
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*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) *
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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