LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session April 5, 2001 TO: Honorable Royce West, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: SB638 by Barrientos (Relating to the taking of a blood sample or other specimen from a person arrested for certain felonies for the purposes of DNA analysis.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for * * SB638, As Introduced: negative impact of $(822,898) 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 $(413,449) * * 2003 (409,449) * * 2004 (409,449) * * 2005 (409,449) * * 2006 (409,449) * **************************************************** All Funds, Five-Year Impact: *************************************************************************** *Fiscal Probable Probable Probable Change in * * Year Revenue Savings/(Cost) Revenue Number of State * * Gain/(Loss) from General Gain/(Loss) to Employees from * * from Criminal Revenue Fund Counties FY 2001 * * Justice 0001 * * Planning * * Account/ * * GR-Dedicated * * 0421 * * 2002 $1,773,000 $(413,449) $197,000 2.0 * * 2003 2,367,000 (409,449) 263,000 2.0 * * 2004 2,367,000 (409,449) 263,000 2.0 * * 2005 2,367,000 (409,449) 263,000 2.0 * * 2006 2,367,000 (409,449) 263,000 2.0 * *************************************************************************** Fiscal Analysis The bill would establish a program of taking a blood sample or other specimen from persons charged with certain felony offenses, or from persons placed on community supervision for certain felony offenses, for the purpose of DNA testing and creating a DNA record. The bill would establish a court cost of $250 on each conviction or deferred adjudication of certain felony offenses requiring DNA testing. Ten percent of this court cost would be retained by the local government with the remaining ninety percent being forwarded to the Comptroller's Office for deposit into the Criminal Justice Planning Account. Money in this account could be appropriated by the Legislature to the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor's Office to be distributed in grant form to local law enforcement agencies. The bill would take effect September 1, 2001. Methodology Based on estimates of court cost revenue found in the Biennial Revenue Estimate and the Annual Report of the Texas Judicial System, the Comptroller's Office estimates that the $250 court cost will generate revenue of $1.97 million in fiscal year 2002 and $2.63 million in subsequent fiscal years. Ten percent of this revenue would be retained by counties while the remaining 90 percent would be remitted to the state for deposit into the Criminal Justice Planning Account. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) estimates that 8,600 individuals would be covered by this bill annually. The specimens would be sent by DPS to a contract lab for analysis at $30 per specimen for a total cost of $258,000. Supplies required for each sample to be obtained, mailed, recorded and controlled would be $7 per sample for a total cost of $60,200. Two additional personnel would be required to process the specimens and enter the information into the database, as well as perform quality control checks on analyses completed by the contract laboratory. Salaries for these individuals would be $64,692 with associated personnel benefits of $18,295 each fiscal year. Operating expenses would run $8,262 each year. There would be a one-time cost for training of $4,000 in fiscal year 2002. Local Government Impact Revenues to local governments statewide would be equivalent to the 10 percent collection fee for timely remittal to the state, estimated by the Comptroller's Office to be $197,000 in fiscal year 2002 and $263,000 per year in the following four fiscal years. The collection fee is estimated to offset the costs for obtaining forensic samples. Source Agencies: 213 Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney, 405 Texas Department of Public Safety, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts LBB Staff: JK, TB, DG