LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
  
                              April 5, 1999
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Ken Armbrister, Chair, Senate Committee on
               Criminal Justice
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB577  by Armbrister (Relating to the duties of and
               procedures affecting a court clerk with respect to
               certain criminal matters.), Committee Report 1st House,
               as amended
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
*                                                                        *
*  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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Local Government Impact
  
Fiscal Analysis

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure and the
Transportation Code to clarify the duties and procedures affecting a
court clerk with respect to certain criminal matters.  The bill would
provide guidance for the electronic filing of applications for witnesses
and subpoenas.

A record granting a person deferred adjudication would be confidential
only by court order.  In cases of community supervision, a person's
instructor would be responsible for notifying the Department of Public
Safety and the community supervision and corrections department upon
successful completion of a program.

The bill would repeal Article 102.002 (a), (b), and (c) of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, which entitles witnesses to a daily fee of $1.50 and
$0.06 per mile traveled to and from trial.  If a defendant could not pay
these fees, the county would be obliged to pay them.

The bill also would repeal Article 102.005 (e) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, which requires a fee of $10 be paid to the clerk of a court
that issued a certified copy of a court order restricting a person's
license in certain situations.


Fiscal Impact

Although the bill would result in both a savings and loss in revenues as
a result of the parts of the Code of Criminal Procedure that would be
repealed, based on responses by the State Comptroller and Denton County,
it is estimated that the net impact to units of local government would
not be significant.
  
  
Source Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405
                   Department of Public Safety
LBB Staff:         JK, MD