LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
  
                              March 5, 1999
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Ken Armbrister, Chair, Senate Committee on
               Criminal Justice
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB205  by Carona (Relating to the fee associated with the
               installation or the monitoring of a motor vehicle
               ignition interlock device required as a condition of
               bail.), As Introduced
  
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*  No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.                    *
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Local Government Impact
  
The bill would require a defendant charged with a subsequent offense of
driving while intoxicated to pay a $10 fee to an agency designated by the
magistrate to verify the installation of a breath alcohol ignition
interlock device.  The bill would also require the defendant to pay a $10
fee each time the agency monitors the weekly reports submitted by the
vendor that installed the device.

Methodology

It was determined that "agency" in this bill refers to a county Community
Support and Corrections Department (CSCD), a pre-trial services division
or a county sheriff.

There are approximately 8,000 breath alcohol ignition interlock devices
leased or sold in Texas each year.  This number is an estimate based on
information obtained from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and
five Department of Public Safety (DPS) licensed vendors in Texas.

Fiscal Impact

The bill would result in a revenue gain to most counties.  The precise
amount of the revenue gain would vary by county and would depend on the
number of defendants charged with a subsequent offense of driving while
intoxicated and the frequency of the monitoring performed by agencies.
If all defendants were to pay the $10 fee for weekly monitoring, the
total revenue to all counties would be about $4.2 million per year.

Designated agencies usually meet with defendants and collect fees on a
monthly basis.  Collection of another fee would incur no additional local
administrative cost.
  
  
Source Agencies:   
LBB Staff:         JK, MD