Honorable Joe Moody, Chair, House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2315 by Landgraf (Relating to establishing a protective order registry and the duties of courts in regard to the registry.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB2315, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($350,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2019.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2018
($350,000)
2019
$0
2020
$0
2021
$0
2022
$0
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2018
($350,000)
2019
$0
2020
$0
2021
$0
2022
$0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Government Code to require the Office of Court Administration (OCA), in consultation with the Department of Public Safety (DPS), to establish and maintain a central, computerized, and Internet-based registry for protective orders. The bill would require the registry to be capable of interfacing with local court case management systems, and to be searchable by county, name, and birth year of the person who is the subject of the order. The bill would require courts to enter protective order information into the registry within 12 hours of filing, issuance, or modification of a protective order. Certain information in the registry would be accessible by the public and certain information would be restricted to authorized users.
The bill would require the registry to be established by January 1, 2018, unless a delay of up to 90 days is authorized by the Texas Judicial Council. The bill would require OCA to establish and supervise a training program for magistrates, court staff, and peace officers by January 1, 2018.
Methodology
Based on historical costs of similar projects, OCA estimates that development of the registry would cost $350,000, while existing resources would be used to provide the required training. DPS has indicated it could implement the provisions of the bill using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
According to the Texas Municipal League, the fiscal impact to municipalities is not anticipated to be significant.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 405 Department of Public Safety, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of