LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session February 21, 2001 TO: Honorable Pat Haggerty, Chair, House Committee on Corrections FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB123 by West, George "Buddy" (Relating to a requirement that inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice participate in educational programs.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** The bill would direct the Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to require an inmate who does not hold a high school diploma or general equivalency certificate to participate in available educational programming. The bill would allow the department to limit participation based on the capacity of the program and, therefore, is estimated to have no significant fiscal impact. Expanded program capacity is estimated to cost $1,040 per participant per year. The Windham School District, which provides educational programming within TDCJ, is currently staffed to provide services to approximately 24,000 inmates at any one time (CJPC, 2000). At the end of fiscal year 1999, TDCJ reported that 53,878 inmates claimed to not have a high school diploma or general equivalency certificate. Local Government Impact No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. Source Agencies: 696 Texas Department of Criminal Justice LBB Staff: JK, JC, VS