LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 85TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
May 1, 2017

TO:
Honorable Gary Elkins, Chair, House Committee on Government Transparency & Operation
 
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB4157 by González, Mary (Relating to simultaneous translation from English to Spanish of certain hearings and meetings held by a committee of the legislature, the governing body of a municipality, or the commissioners court of a county.), As Introduced

Depending upon the number of requests for translation, there would be an indeterminate but potentially significant fiscal impact to the state.

The bill would require a committee of the legislature, the governing body of a municipality and a commissioners court to provide professional simultaneous translation from English to Spanish of a public hearing of the committee, a public meeting of the governing body or a public meeting of the commissioners court if a person requests the translation in writing not later than the third day before the date of the hearing.  

The House and Senate would be required to provide translation upon request.  They would need to contract with potentially numerous translators.  Depending upon the number of requests and the length of meetings, there could be potentially significant costs.  According to the House Business Office, a closed captioning machine could be purchased for $20,000-$25,000 to assist with the translation. The operator of the machine would cost an estimated $150-$300 per hour depending on a number of factors. 

The same would apply for governing bodies and commissioners courts.

Local Government Impact

According to Texas Municipal League, the cost can not be determined but it could be significant.

According to El Paso County, the bill would cost the county $39,000 a year.

According to Andrews County, the bill would cost the county $17,940 a year.


Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
UP, SD, BM