LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 81ST LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

March 28, 2009

TO:	Honorable Pete Gallego, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB2059 by Gallego (Relating to certain pretrial and post-trial procedures in a criminal case.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to certain pretrial and post-trial procedures in a criminal case.  The bill would require court costs to be deducted from a criminal defendant's cash bail bond before the bond is refunded to the defendant.  To the extent the bill would modify court proceedings, no significant increase in judicial workloads or fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.  The bill would take effect September 1, 2009. 

Local Government Impact

The fiscal impact from collecting court costs prior to refunding a defendant's bail bond would vary by county and would depend on the number of defendants from whom court costs would be deducted prior to refunding the bond and the amount of additional court costs that would be collected as a result.

The fiscal impact from the proposed change in when a clerk of a court that does not provide online Internet access to the court's criminal case records must post notice of a prospective criminal court docket setting is not anticipated to have a significant fiscal impact.

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety

LBB Staff:

JOB, ESi, TB, DB