LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session April 2, 2001 TO: Honorable Royce West, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB769 by King, Phil (Relating to the fees imposed in certain child support cases.), As Engrossed ************************************************************************** * Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for * * HB769, As Engrossed: positive impact of $0 through the biennium * * ending August 31, 2003. * * * * The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal * * basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of * * the bill. * ************************************************************************** General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact: **************************************************** * Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) * * Impact to General Revenue Related * * Funds * * 2002 $0 * * 2003 0 * * 2004 0 * * 2005 0 * * 2006 0 * **************************************************** All Funds, Five-Year Impact: *************************************************************************** *Fiscal Probable Savings/(Cost) from Change in Number of State * * Year Federal Funds - Federal Employees from FY 2001 * * 0555 * * 2002 $(5,388,224) 0.0 * * 2003 (5,657,642) 0.0 * * 2004 (5,940,515) 0.0 * * 2005 (6,237,545) 0.0 * * 2006 (6,549,424) 0.0 * *************************************************************************** Fiscal Analysis The bill amends the Family Code to require the state's Title IV-D agency, the Office of the Attorney General, to pay a $15 fee for each administrative writ of withholding for child support that is filed. The filing fee would be paid on all new writs filed after September 1, 2001. Methodology The Attorney General estimates that 544,265 administrative writs of withholding will be filed in fiscal year 2002, and will increase by 5% each year. The cost for the $15 fee would total a projected $8.2 million in fiscal year 2002, increasing to a total of $9.9 million in fiscal year 2006. State child support enforcement expenditures are generally funded with two-thirds federal funds and one-third state funds; therefore, the state's share of the cost would be $2.8 million in fiscal year 2002 and increase to $3.4 million in fiscal year 2006. However, under another provision of the Family Code, the OAG is released from the requirement to pay the state's share of any filing fees and related court costs for child support cases. Instead, the OAG only passes on the federal government's two-thirds contribution to the local governments. As a result, the only impact on the state's budget is an increase in the expenditure of federal funds. Local Government Impact The local county governments would receive the federal contributions towards filing fees passed on by the OAG, totaling $5.4 million in fiscal year 2002, increasing to $6.5 million in fiscal year 2006. Source Agencies: 302 Office of the Attorney General, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, TB, JC, SC