Honorable Mary Denny, Chair, House Committee on Elections
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB516 by Brown, Betty (Relating to requiring proof of citizenship at the time a person registers to vote.), As Introduced
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Local Government Impact
Local governmental entities would see some costs to implement the provisions of the bill. Election administration offices would need a substantial amount of additional storage space to archive the copies of documents that would serve as of proof of citizenship. Fort Bend County reported that it costs their election office 39.5 cents per cubic foot for storage in a public storage facility. The greater the number of registrations, the higher the cost for storage.
Some localities have electronic imaging systems and could scan the documents into a central database; additional computer storage equipment would be needed for those offices. Also, these localities may see additional costs for shredding and recycling the citizenship documentation after it has been scanned.