Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB130 by Johnson, Ann (Relating to the creation of additional judicial districts composed of Harris County.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB130, As Introduced : a negative impact of ($2,538,144) through the biennium ending August 31, 2025.
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
2024
($1,269,072)
2025
($1,269,072)
2026
($1,269,072)
2027
($1,269,072)
2028
($1,269,072)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2023
2024
($1,269,072)
6.0
2025
($1,269,072)
6.0
2026
($1,269,072)
6.0
2027
($1,269,072)
6.0
2028
($1,269,072)
6.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would create six new district courts in Harris County including the 486th, 487th, 488th, 489th, 490th, and 491st which would each give preferences to criminal cases. The new judicial districts would take effect on September 1, 2023.
Methodology
State judicial compensation is traditionally met through a mix of General Revenue and Judicial Fund No. 573 funding; however, for the past several fiscal years Judicial Fund No. 573 revenues have not been sufficient to meet all judicial salary obligations. Due to this, General Revenue funding has been used to meet the remaining obligations. Therefore, this estimate assumes General Revenue funding would be needed to cover the full state obligations for these provisions. The table above reflects costs for the salary and benefits of six district judges each fiscal year.
Based on analysis provided by the Office of Court Administration (OCA), this methodology assumes each district judge salary based on the current salary for a district judge with 0-4 years of services, as set forth in the General Appropriations Act. Visiting judge costs assume a daily rate of $620 x 18 days. According to the Employees Retirement System, the six judges would be added to Judicial Retirement System - Plan 2 (JRS - 2). The additional cost would be total annual salary of the six judges, estimated by OCA to be $840,000, multiplied by a state contribution of 19.25 percent. This results in an annual cost to JRS-2 of $161,700 each fiscal year or $323,400 for the biennium. Other costs include agency payroll contributions and benefit costs totaling $267,372 each fiscal year, or $534,744 for the biennium.
Local Government Impact
Local governments pay operating costs associated with district courts, such as office space, computer equipment, furniture and court staff.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 327 Employees Retirement System