LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 27, 2005

TO:
Honorable Mary Denny, Chair, House Committee on Elections
 
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB3138 by Castro (Relating to the registration of voters at a polling place and related procedures.), As Introduced



Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB3138, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($1,327,508) through the biennium ending August 31, 2007.

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.



Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2006 ($1,327,508)
2007 $0
2008 ($1,327,508)
2009 $0
2010 ($1,327,508)




Fiscal Year Probable (Cost) from
GENERAL REVENUE FUND
1
2006 ($1,327,508)
2007
2008 ($1,327,508)
2009 $0
2010 ($1,327,508)

Fiscal Analysis

The bill would amend Election Code to require the presence of a deputy registrar or a volunteer deputy registrar at each polling place in the county on election day to provide for election day voter registration for persons not registered to vote. Persons registering to vote at the polling place would be processed at the polling place separately from registered voters. The Secretary of State would be required to prescribe the procedures for implementing related provisions of the bill.

Methodology

This bill would require a minimum of one deputy registrar in the polling place to process nonregistered voters. The estimated cost is based on the total number of polling places for the 2004 primary and primary runoff elections (13,546) X 1 deputy registrar at each polling place X the number of hours worked during an election (14 hours, which according to the Secretary of State's Office assumes polling places are open for 12 hours and election workers generally beginning work one hour before the polls open and ending work one hour after they close) X the current hourly rate paid to election workers whom attended election law and procedure training ($7.00/hour).

This analysis assumes that deputy registrars will be hired to process voter registration at the primary election polling places as opposed to volunteer deputy registrars.

It also assumes that registrars who are hired to work at the primary election polling places will have taken election law and procedure training allowing them to paid $7.00/ hour because in the 2004 primary elections approximately 78 percent of all primary election workers attended the training.

The state reimburses election costs associated with primary elections.


Local Government Impact

Victoria County reported that to implement the provisions of the bill, additional personnel would be needed at each polling station at an additional cost of $3,500 per election. Additional counting staff would also need to be hired at a cost of $500 per election. These costs would have a moderate effect on the elections budget of the county.

 

Randall County reported initial costs of $630 per election to pay for an additional 90 staff to work the polling places in the county.

 

Houston County reported that an additional 21 staff would be needed at polling places in the county, at a cost of $1,600 per election.


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