| TO: | Honorable Frank Corte, Chair, House Committee on Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB199 by Berman (Relating to excepting from required public disclosure a military discharge record that a veteran has recorded with the county clerk.), As Introduced |
Several county clerks' offices provided information regarding the fiscal impact of the bill. The county clerk in Williamson County said the county would experience a one-time additional cost for software changes.
The Tarrant County Clerk's Office estimates that it would incur an expense of $150,000 for software changes. 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 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
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| LBB Staff: | JK, WK, JB, DLBa
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