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
  
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*  No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.                    *
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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