LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session April 3, 2001 TO: Honorable Tom Ramsay, Chair, House Committee on County Affairs FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB2466 by Corte (Relating to requiring a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor to reimburse a county for confinement expenses.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** The bill would require defendants convicted of a misdemeanor to pay the county for confinement at a rate of $25 per day. When the confinement is a condition of community supervision, the bill would require indigent defendants to incur a debt to the county for the confinement expenses. Local Government Impact Currently, a court is authorized to order a defendant to reimburse the county for costs of confinement at a rate of $25 per day, but it is not required. According to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, the statewide average cost per day to confine an offender in a county jail is $33.70. The Denton County Auditor indicated that provisions of the bill would not have a major fiscal impact because most justices in Denton County already impose the costs for confinement. The auditor estimated the bill would increase revenue to Denton County by $25,000 to $50,000. He reported that the revenue would be offset to some extent by additional administrative expenses related to billing and collections. The administrative costs are expected to be minimal. The El Paso County Auditor's Office provided information that indicates the bill would have a negative effect on their county budget initially because they report they would have to hire one full-time employee at a cost of $23,833. Additionally, the county would incur a one-time cost of $15,000 for information technology programming to implement the provisions of the bill. The Auditor's Office estimates that the bill would generate $30,000 per year in revenue for the county. Counties are anticipated to incur a net revenue gain. The gain would vary by county depending on the number of defendants that reimburse the county for costs of confinement and the collection rate for such costs. Source Agencies: 212 Office of Court Administration, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, DB