LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
                                Revision 1
  
                              March 12, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Royce West, Chair, Senate Committee on
               Jurisprudence
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB625  by Duncan (Relating to the electronic storage of
               records by the court of criminal appeals.), As Introduced
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
*                                                                        *
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The bill would amend Section 51.105, Government Code, to give the Clerk
of the Court of Criminal Appeals authority to maintain writs and other
records and document in an electronic storage format.  The court has
indicated that it can absorb the costs any technology or personnel needed
to maintain records electronically in its baseline budget.

The estimated costs and assumptions of the technology impact of the bill
are as follows:  The bill would allow court records to be maintained in
an electronic storage format.  In fiscal year 2002,  $80,000 would be
used to purchase a digital scanner and a CD writer.  Another $20,000
would be required to purchase server software and $54,400 would be
needed for contract development costs (estimated length of contract,
four months).  The technology would require an additional FTE to
maintain the system (salary cost at $30,000) and an additional $10,000
in maintenance costs for every year after the first year.  The
technology impact estimate was prepared using current prices for
necessary hardware and software.  The technology impact estimate assumes
that a contractor would be hired to develop the system and the length of
the contract would be four months.  The technology impact estimate
assumes that an additional FTE would be needed to maintain the system,
and that the FTE would be employed the final six months of fiscal year
2002 and every year thereafter.  Additional maintenance costs to the
system are estimated to be $10,000 in fiscal year 2003 and every year
thereafter.
  
Local Government Impact
  
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is
anticipated.
  
  
Source Agencies:   211   Court of Criminal Appeals, 212   Office of
                   Court Administration
LBB Staff:         JK, TB, JN, SS