| TO: | Honorable Garnet Coleman, Chair, House Committee on County Affairs |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB2518 by Springer (Relating to reimbursement for jury service.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Government Code to change the minimum daily juror payment and in relation to the minimum reimbursement from the state to counties for juror service. The bill changes the minimum reimbursement from counties to jurors from $40 to $34 for each day or fraction of a day of jury service after the first day. The bill also replaces the requirement that the state reimburse counties $34 for that type of juror service with the requirement of reimbursement in the minimum payment amount required from counties. The bill would take effect September 1, 2013.
The Comptroller of Public Accounts does not anticipate that the bill will have a fiscal impact on the state. The Office of Court Administration does not anticipate any significant fiscal impact to the court system resulting from the bill.
The bill will have a positive fiscal impact on county government because the bill reduces the amount the county must pay each juror by $6 per second or later day of jury service while, under the bill, the amount the state reimburses the county remains the same. Based upon historical rates of reimbursements to counties statewide, it is anticipated the savings statewide to counties under bill provisions would be an estimated $1,920,000 per fiscal year.
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts
|
| LBB Staff: | UP, KKR, AM, TB
|