LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                            February 27, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Senfronia Thompson, Chair, House Committee on
               Judicial Affairs
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB1107  by Hartnett (Relating to the use of money in the
               county law library fund.), As Introduced
  
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*  No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.                    *
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Local Government Impact
  
The bill would allow a county with 30 or more district courts to use the
county law library fund to purchase or lease library materials or acquire
library equipment, computers, software, and subscriptions to electronic
research networks for use by the judges.  The Act would take effect
September 1, 2001.

Currently, only Dallas and Harris counties have 30 or more district
courts, Dallas has 32 and Harris has 59. Use of law library funds to make
purchases of items identified in the bill would provide a savings to any
other county fund currently used to make such purchases, depending on
the revenue level of the law library fund and the purchases or leases
made.  Harris County, for example, currently makes law library purchases
using the county's general fund and estimates spending around $800,000
annually for that purpose.

Costs for subscriptions to electronic research networks vary from $15 to
$150 per month per individual subscriber.  The cost of legal books start
at around $100 per book.  A subscription for West Law on CD-Rom is
$50,000 per year.
  
  
Source Agencies:   
LBB Staff:         JK, TB, DB