LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

February 18, 2005

TO:	Honorable Jeff Wentworth, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB241 by Wentworth (Relating to the creation of an appellate judicial system for the Third Court of Appeals District.), As Introduced

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 Third Court of Appeals. The bill would require counties of the Third 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 Third Court of Appeals. To the extent that the Third 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 24 counties in the Third 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 Third Court of Appeals, at an estimated 50,000 filings per fiscal year at $5 per filing, the counties within the district would contribute $250,000 per fiscal year to the appellate justice system.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 223 Third Court of Appeals District, Austin

LBB Staff:

JOB, DLBa