LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 78TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

February 26, 2003

TO:	Honorable Frank Corte, Chair, House Committee on Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations
FROM:	John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB142 by Hupp (Relating to limiting access to military discharge records recorded with the county clerk.), As Introduced

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend Section 192.002, Local Government Code, by restricting access to military discharge records recorded with the county clerk to only the veteran who is the subject of the record, certain family members of the veteran, or a representative of the veteran's estate. The bill would take effect immediately if it were to receive a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house; otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2003.

Local Government Impact

Several county clerks' offices provided information regarding the fiscal impact of the bill. The Tarrant County Clerk's Office estimates that it would incur an expense of $150,000 for software changes related to record storage and retrieval. There also would be an annual storage cost of $888 to safekeep the military books in a secure area.

The Red River County Clerk's Office reported that the bill would have a $20,000 negative fiscal impact on their county.

The Harris County Clerk's Office reported that they would have to hire two additional deputy clerks at a combined annual salary of $50,532 (not including benefits) to monitor microfilm usage and to ensure that the records would not be released to the public. They also estimated there would be a $5,000 software fee and an $11,000 charge for new microfilm.

Counties anticipate that they would experience a negative fiscal impact each year, and the impact during the first year of implementation could be significant, especially for small counties. The fiscal implications to units of local government would vary by county based on the number of military discharge records filed, the type of system already in place for maintaining the records, and the method implemented to protect military discharge records.

Source Agencies:	304 Comptroller Of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:	JK, WK, JB, DLBa