LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session May 4, 2001 TO: Honorable Juan Hinojosa, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: SB1778 by Lucio (relating to the collection of costs in criminal cases.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** The bill would authorize a county commissioners court and a governing body of a municipality that enter into a contract with a public or private vendor to collect outstanding fines, fees, restitution, and other court-ordered debts or costs, other than forfeited bonds, to add 30 percent on each debt or account receivable that is more than 60 days past due and has been referred to the public or private vendor for collection unless the defendant is found to be indigent, have insufficient resources or income, or is unable to pay all or part of the underlying fine or costs. If the private attorney or vendor were to collect from a person owing court-ordered costs an amount that is less than the person owes, including the allowed collection costs, the amount required to be sent to the Comptroller of Public Accounts and the amount the county or governing body may retain would be reduced by an equal percentage in order to fully compensate the attorney or vendor in accordance with the contract. Local Government Impact The provisions of the bill would result in additional revenue to the county or municipality, which would help recover part of the costs of attorneys' and vendors' fees for providing collection services. The fiscal impact would vary by political subdivision based on successful collection rates, amounts of debts outstanding for more than 60 days, and costs for contracting with an attorney for conducting the collections. Source Agencies: LBB Staff: JK, JC, DB