LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session February 23, 2001 TO: Honorable Bob Hunter, Chair, House Committee on State, Federal & International Relations FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB440 by Madden (Relating to an uncontested election for a trustee of a library district.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** Local Government Impact The bill would require that write-in votes for library district trustee elections be handled in the same manner as that for the election of city officers as set forth in the Election Code. As a result, the bill would eliminate the requirement for library districts to hold an election in uncontested races. The bill would take effect September 1, 2001. Under current law, library district trustee elections are required to be conducted annually, and there are no procedures for handling write-in votes in trustee elections. As a result, it appears that an election would be required annually, even if each place for office were uncontested. According to an analysis conducted by the Comptroller of Public Accounts, all library districts could expect to save the cost of holding an election when there are uncontested races. The cost for elections would vary by district, with a reported range from $1,200 up to $10,000. Source Agencies: 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, JO, DB