| TO: | Honorable Mary Denny, Chair, House Committee on Elections |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB2119 by Brown, Betty (Relating to certain duties of local registrars of deaths relating to voter registration.), As Introduced |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2004 | ($81,022) |
| 2005 | $68,676 |
| 2006 | $81,176 |
| 2007 | $81,176 |
| 2008 | $81,176 |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) fromGENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 |
Probable Savings/(Cost) fromGENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | $0 | ($81,022) | 2.0 |
| 2005 | $137,500 | ($68,824) | 2.0 |
| 2006 | $150,000 | ($68,824) | 2.0 |
| 2007 | $150,000 | ($68,824) | 2.0 |
| 2008 | $150,000 | ($68,824) | 2.0 |
The bill would require local registrars of death to file an abstract with the voter registrar in the county of residence of each death certificate issued for a decedent 18 years of age or older who was a Texas resident at the time of death not later than the tenth day after the date the certificate is issued. For each abstract that is filed later than the tenth day, the county or municipality, as applicable, would be required to pay a $25 late fee to the secretary of state.
The secretary of state would be authorized to require reports from or audit the records of a local registrar of deaths to enforce the filing requirements. The county would be required to keep the secretary of state informed as to the name of the person serving as the local registrar of deaths in the county.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2003, except that a late fee could not be charged until delinquent filings on or after September 1, 2004.
Current statute allows the local registrar of death until the tenth day of the month after a death certificate is issued before the abstract must be filed. There is currently no late fee charge. The change in time frame for filing the abstracts is not expected to have a significant fiscal impact on units of local government.
The Secretary of State (SOS) reports that it receives an average of 10,000 death reports per month from the Texas Department of Health. Using that figure for deaths per month statewide, the SOS assumes at least 5 percent of the death reports would be delinquent per month, for a revenue gain of $150,000 annually. That amount could not be collected until an abstract is filed late on or after September 1, 2004. Assuming collections would not begin until October 1, 2004, the revenue gain the first fiscal year the fee is collected would be $137,500.
The SOS estimates that the volume of reports processed and enforcement efforts would require the addition of two Administrative Technician positions, for a total of $68,824 each fiscal year for salaries, benefits, and operating expenses. The SOS also estimates that the first year of implementation would require one-time equipment costs of $12,198.
| Source Agencies: | 307 Secretary of State
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| LBB Staff: | JK, GO, JF, DLBa
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