LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session May 8, 1999 TO: Honorable Senfronia Thompson, Chair, House Committee on Judicial Affairs FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: SB601 by Moncrief (Relating to the authority of the governing body of a municipality to create a municipal court technology fund and to require certain defendants to pay costs for deposit in the fund), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted ************************************************************************** * No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** Local Government Impact The bill would allow a municipality to assess a technology fee of $4 as a cost of court to defendants convicted of misdemeanor offenses in a municipal court or a municipal court of record. The proceeds of the fee would be deposited into a fund known as the Municipal Court Technology Fund and could be used only to finance the purchase of technological enhancements for a municipal court of record. Four municipalities provided estimates of the number of misdemeanor convictions to which the technology fee could apply. Following is an estimate of potential annual revenues that could be generated by the technology fee in each of the four selected municipalities: Austin $ 759,568 Denton $ 116,000 Farmers Branch $ 96,000 Lubbock $ 200,000 Other municipalities could incur similar revenues, depending on the number of misdemeanor convictions per year. Source Agencies: 212 Office of Court Administration LBB Staff: JK, PE, TL