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LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 87TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
April 13, 2021
TO:
Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4345 by Jetton (Relating to the authority and jurisdiction conferred to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB4345, As Introduced : a negative impact of ($187,628) through the biennium ending August 31, 2023.
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
2022
($93,814)
2023
($93,814)
2024
($93,814)
2025
($93,814)
2026
($93,814)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2021
2022
($93,814)
1.0
2023
($93,814)
1.0
2024
($93,814)
1.0
2025
($93,814)
1.0
2026
($93,814)
1.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Government Code to provide the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC) with the authority to enforce the Code of Judicial Conduct and administer discipline as it related to judicial candidates. The bill would expand the definition of "Judge" to include a candidate for a judicial office subject to the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2021.
Methodology
Costs reflected in the table above are based on information provided by SCJC.
According to the SCJC, the agency typically experiences a 30 percent increase in complaint filings during an election season. This analysis assumes case filings would increase and that an additional Attorney position (1.0 FTE) would be required to identify, investigate, and present additional campaign related cases for resolution. The table above reflects General Revenue costs for the Attorney position with salaries totaling $70,000 and operating and payroll related benefit costs totaling $23,814 each fiscal year.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.