Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB12 by Longoria (Relating to the border prosecution unit. ), As Passed 2nd House
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Government Code to establish a Border Prosecution Unit composed of certain prosecutors from the border region within the Criminal Justice Division (CJD) of the Office of the Governor. The Border Prosecution Unit would be required to meet annually and provide information related to border prosecutions. The Unit would be required to advise the CJD on the allocation of Border Prosecution Grants and the needs of border prosecuting attorneys including the need for employment of regional council, and facilitate collaboration with other law enforcement agencies. The bill would also require the Border Prosecution Unit to develop a non-exclusive list of offenses, serve as a clearinghouse of information, develop a training program for local law enforcement, and develop accountability and performance measures for grant recipients. The bill would take effect September 1, 2015.
The Office of the Governor, Department of Public Safety, Office of Court Administration and Comptroller of Public Accounts indicated that the duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished within each agency's existing resources.
Local Government Impact
There may be costs to counties due to increased prosecution of border crimes; however, counties assume that such costs may be offset in an amount equivalent to any grant funding provided. Therefore, no significant impact is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 301 Office of the Governor, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety