LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

March 17, 2005

TO:	Honorable Will Hartnett, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB1404 by Deshotel (Relating to the fees collected by a county clerk for certain filings in pending probate actions.), As Introduced

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would authorize a county clerk to collect a fee in pending probate actions for a document not listed in the respective sections of statute after the filing of an order approving the inventory and appraisement or after the 120th day after the date of the initial filing of the action, whichever occurs first. The fee would be $10 if the document is 25 or fewer pages, $25 if there are between 26 and 99 pages, and $50 for a document 100 pages or more. The bill would take effect September 1, 2005. 

Local Government Impact

The county clerks who responded to a request for fiscal information related to provisions of the bill indicated that the circumstances in which the new fee would be imposed rarely occur; therefore, the revenue gain would be insignificant. For example, in Atascosa County (population 38,628), the estimated gain would be $200 annually; in Williamson County (population 249,967), the estimated gain would be $5,000 annually; in Fort Bend County (population 354,452), the estimated gain would be $250 to $350 annually; and in Harris County (population 3.4 million), the estimated gain would be $7,500 the first year. [Populations reflect the 2000 federal census, although the counties themselves report higher populations.]

The revenue gain would vary by county, but is anticipated to be insignificant.

Source Agencies:

LBB Staff:

JOB, DLBa