LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

May 17, 2005

TO:	Honorable Jeff Wentworth, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB1997 by Keffer, Jim (Relating to the creation of an appellate judicial system for the Eleventh Court of Appeals District.), As Engrossed

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend Government Code, Chapter 22, to create an appellate judicial system for the Eleventh Court of Appeals. The bill would require counties of the Eleventh Court of Appeals district to collect and forward filing fees to a fund for the assistance of the court. The bill would require the commissioner courts to vest management of the system in the chief justice of the Eleventh Court of Appeals. To the extent that the Eleventh Court of Appeals uses local collections to defray expenses previously paid with state appropriations, the fiscal implication to the state is not anticipated to be significant.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. The 28 counties in the Eleventh Court of Appeals District would incur slight costs to establish a separate appellate justice system fund, but these costs are expected to be minimal. According to the Office of Court Administration, 16,681 civil cases were filed in the appellate district in fiscal year 2004.  Assuming 17,000 civil case filings per fiscal year at $5 per filing, the counties within the district would contribute and estimated $85,000 per fiscal year to the appellate justice system.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts

LBB Staff:

JOB, KJG, ZS, TB, DLBa