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LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
April 22, 2025
TO:
Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1015 by Zaffirini (Relating to excess contributions and fees allocated to statutory probate courts.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Government Code to clarify the current practice as to how excess funds collected by statutory probate courts are distributed and to update the reference for the sources of funds used to pay the presiding judge's salary and expenses.
The bill would require each county to pay to the presiding judge an amount to cover the salary and expenses of the statutory probate court (if any) from the Judicial Education and Support Fund, which is a local fund.
The bill would clarify the existing excess contribution calculation by the Comptroller's Judiciary section and would change the funding of judicial salaries and expenses of statutory probate courts from local fees to a local fund.
Local Government Impact
The bill would alter the method of finance to cover the costs of statutory probate courts but leaves fees paid to local courts unchanged. Most counties have no statutory probate courts. The fiscal impact is not expected to be significant.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts