LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
  
                              March 19, 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.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
  
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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 an initial fee of up to $10 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 fee of up to $10 at the first of the month each time
the agency monitors the device.

Methodology

It was determined that "agency" in this bill refers to a county Community
Supervision 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, which would
offset the cost of conducting verification and monitoring of devices.
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 maximum $10 fee once
per month, total revenue to all counties would be about $320,000 per
year.
  
  
Source Agencies:   
LBB Staff:         JK, MD, BP