LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 82ND LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

March 29, 2011

TO:	Honorable Tommy Williams, Chair, Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security
FROM:	John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB1699 by Williams (Relating to authorizing the use of an image verification system to determine whether an applicant for a driver's license or personal identification certificate is a fugitive from justice.), As Introduced

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB1699, As Introduced: an impact of $0 through the biennium ending August 31, 2013.

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

General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2012	$0
2013	$0
2014	$0
2015	$0
2016	$0

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable (Cost) from State Highway Fund 6	Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2011
2012	($1,809,727)	15.0
2013	($929,398)	15.0
2014	($877,398)	15.0
2015	($907,514)	15.0
2016	($877,398)	15.0

Fiscal Analysis

The bill would amend the Transportation Code to require the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to ensure an applicant for a driver’s license, permit, commercial driver’s license, or personal identification card is not a fugitive from justice through authentication of a facial image and the thumbprints or fingerprints of the applicant. The bill would take effect September 1, 2011.

Methodology

DPS indicates the Crime Records Section (CRS) of DPS where fugitive information is maintained does not have capability for facial verification, but they would be able to verify applicants are not fugitives by checking both thumbprints and all fingerprints. Currently, only thumbprints are used to verify other information regarding applicants for the applicable documents and would not be sufficient to check against CRS  records. This would require DPS to obtain programming and equipment to obtain full sets of fingerprints from all applicants and allow the CRS to interface with the Driver License System. Additionally, DPS will require an additional 15 Fingerprint Technician IIIs to analyze and process the additional submitted fingerprints to comply with the provisions of the bill.

Technology

DPS estimates technology costs to implement the provisions of the bill at $843,000 in FY 2012, $52,000 in FY 2013, and $10,600 in FY 2015. These costs include additional programming equipment, and maintenance of additional equipment necessary to capture all the fingerprints of all applicants for the applicable documents and allow the CRS to interface with the Driver License System.

Local Government Impact

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

Source Agencies:

405 Department of Public Safety

LBB Staff:

JOB, KJG, GG, ESi, SD