LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              April 6, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Royce West, Chair, Senate Committee on
               Jurisprudence
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB1098  by Madla (Relating to juror reimbursement in
               certain counties.), As Introduced
  
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*  No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.                    *
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The bill would provide for reimbursement from $6 up to actual expenses
for travel, lodging, and meals to persons selected as jurors in counties
with a population of 25,000 or below.  Under current law, the amount is
capped at $50 per day or fraction thereof.  That cap would remain in
effect in counties having a population of 25,000 or more.

The bill would establish a $10 filing fee for civil cases and a $10 court
cost on criminal convictions and deferred adjudications as a juror
reimbursement fee for counties with a population of 25,000 or below.
Court clerks would collect the fee or cost and deliver the money to the
county treasurer.

This bill would take effect September 1, 2001.
  
Local Government Impact
  
The Office of Court Administration (OCA) contacted 160 counties with
populations under 25,000 regarding jury payment and frequency of grand
jury meetings. OCA captures jury data for the district courts but not the
county courts, so the following assumptions were made: The percentage of
trials for district and county courts are the same; capital case trials
last 5 days, all other trials last 2 days; each juror is reimbursed for
30 miles of travel each day at $0.28 per mile; each juror receives $25
per day in meal allowance; the fee collection rate for criminal cases is
65 percent and for civil cases is 100 percent; grand juries have 12
members, district courts have 12-member juries, county court family
juries have 12 members, and all other county court cases have six jurors;
each county has a grand jury meet once a month for 2 days; district
cases will increase 9 percent over fiscal year 2000 and county cases will
increase 12 percent. There were no counties contacted that paid less
than $6 per person per day for jury service.

Based on district court reports, 5.23 percent of civil cases and 1.42
percent of criminal cases go to jury trial. There were 1,871 civil juries
and 277 criminal juries convened in fiscal year 2000. There were 4,689
civil and 45,450 criminal cases disposed in fiscal year 2000. Almost 9
percent of district cases were capital offenses and 8.63 percent of
county cases were family law cases.

Using the above-listed assumptions, statewide county revenue under the
provisions of the bill in fiscal year 2002 would be $838,446 (11 months,
as collections would not be realized for the first month of
implementation). The costs, which would be paid for the full year, would
total $877,630.  There would be a net loss of $39,184 the first year of
implementation if jurors are reimbursed for travel, lodging, and meals.
If, during the first year of implementation, less than a $25 per diem is
paid to each juror, the loss could be reduced. Each year thereafter,
however, with collections for all 12 months totaling $914,669, counties
would have a net revenue gain of $37,038, even if paying actual expenses
in the amounts used in the assumptions given.

The specific fiscal impact for each county with a population under 25,000
would vary, depending on number of cases filed, fines assessed and
collected, number of juries impaneled, and how much the county pays the
jurors in the allowable range.
  
  
Source Agencies:   212   Office of Court Administration, 304
                   Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, TB, DB