LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
May 5, 2005

TO:
Honorable Mary Denny, Chair, House Committee on Elections
 
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB166 by Pena (Relating to the use of direct recording electronic voting machines.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted



Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB166, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($104,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2007.



Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2006 ($104,000)
2007 $0
2008 $0
2009 $0
2010 $0




Fiscal Year Probable (Cost) from
GENERAL REVENUE FUND
1
2006 ($104,000)
2007 $0
2008 $0
2009 $0
2010 $0

Fiscal Analysis

The bill would amend Election Code to require the Secretary of State to prescribe specific requirements and deadlines for testing direct recording electronic voting machine equipment and to prescribe procedures requiring specific testing methods for voting systems that use direct recording electronic voting machines.

The bill would require the Secretary of State to conduct a study to evaluate the feasibility and advisability of requiring a voter verified paper audit trail for a direct recording electronic voting system and to file a written report with the findings with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Lieutenant Governor by December 1, 2006.


Methodology

This analysis assumes a contracting cost of $100 per hour for 26 weeks to assist agency staff to research and draft the necessary procedures for hash code testing, parallel testing of programming and equipment, and post-election verification for voting systems that use direct recording electronic voting machines.

Technology

The estimated impact to technology is $104,000 for contracting costs associated with assisting agency staff in researching and drafting the necessary procedures for hash code testing, parallel testing of programming and equipment, and post-election verification for voting systems that use direct recording electronic voting machines.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated depending on the requirements and deadlines for testing direct recording electronic voting machine equipment prescribed by the Secretary of State.


Source Agencies:
307 Secretary of State
LBB Staff:
JOB, LB, MS, NR