| TO: | Honorable Will Hartnett, Chair, House Committee on Judicial Affairs |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB3314 by Capelo (Relating to the amount of certain court fees.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Government Code and the Local Government Code to change the amounts of certain court fees and to establish new ones. The bill would take effect September 1, 2003 and would apply only to an offense committed and a civil action filed on or after that date.
Based on the number of applicable court cases reported to the Office of Court Administration (OCA) in fiscal year 2002, assuming that number were to remain constant, and allowing for historical collection rates of 60 percent for some types of cases and 33 percent for others, the OCA estimates that statewide cities and counties collectively would experience a revenue increase of $40.9 million annually.
The Comptroller of Public Accounts notes that an increase in fees collected would also result in an increase in the portion that is submitted to the state; however, that increase is estimated to be insignificant.
Several county clerks, district clerks, municipal court clerks, and justice court clerks were contacted regarding the fiscal impact of the provisions of the bill. As examples of the potential estimated revenue gain, the district clerk in Kerr County (population 43,653) estimates there would be an increase of $101,500 in revenue annually; the county clerk in Midland County (population 116,009) estimates an increase of $74,000; the county clerk in Fort Bend County (population 354,452) calculated an increase of $147,424; and the Bexar County (population 1,392,931) district clerk's office estimates there would be $888,960 in increased revenue.
The revenue gain would vary by local government depending on the number and type of applicable cases filed and collection rates experienced.
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts
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| LBB Staff: | JK, GO, DLBa
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