LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 78TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

May 8, 2003

TO:	Honorable Joe Driver, Chair, House Committee on Law Enforcement
FROM:	John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB244 by Allen (Relating to certain records kept by the Department of Public Safety involving the holder of a driver's license.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure in regards to publication of information regarding offenders required to register in the sex offender registration program.  It is assumed that implementation of the bill would not have a significant impact on the costs of state government. 

Local Government Impact

Additional costs would be incurred by local law enforcement authorities to implement the provisions of the bill. The costs would vary depending on the number of offenders and publication costs. The Houston Police Department reports that there were approximately 475 additional notifications they would have to publish at a cost of $150 each, resulting in an additional publication cost of $72,000 per year. HPD also estimated that this cost could increase approximately 8 percent to 10 percent a year, due to the increasing trend in the number of offenders and probable increases in publication costs. Even more funds would be needed for additional supplies, administrative staff and investigative time.

 

Law enforcement authorities are allowed to collect from the convicted person an amount equal to the cost incurred by the authority in obtaining the publication. However, recovery of the publications costs from the offender is greatly affected by the person's ability to pay.

Source Agencies:

696 Department of Criminal Justice

LBB Staff:

JK, WK, GG, KG