Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1571 by Jones, Jolanda (Relating to access to and notification of protective order registry information.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1571, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($775,000) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.
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
2026
($775,000)
2027
$0
2028
$0
2029
$0
2030
$0
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2026
($775,000)
2027
$0
2028
$0
2029
$0
2030
$0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Government Code to extend access of the Protective Order Registry (POR) to an attorney representing a victim of family violence or for individuals representing themselves in response to protective order charges.
The bill would also require the registry to be configured to notify the issuing court of certain information in the event a person who is subject to a protective order were to commit a civil violation of the protective order or any criminal offense.
Methodology
According to the Office of Court Administration (OCA), the cost to implement the provisions of the bill would have a one-time cost of $775,000 in General Revenue in fiscal year 2026.
In order to host additional users within the confidential module of the POR, OCA would need to implement a login and redaction software to limit user access. The total development would cost $25,000 in fiscal year 2026.
Additionally, in order to provide notifications to courts if a respondent in a protective order is arrested for a new criminal offense, OCA would need to update the Public Safety Reporting System (PSRS) since the current POR is not designed to make the notifications required of the bill. The total cost to update the PSRS would be $750,000 in fiscal year 2026.
Technology
Technology costs would total $775,000 in fiscal year 2026, including $25,000 to update the POR to host users within the confidential module and $750,000 to update the PSRS to provide notifications pursuant to the provisions of the bill.
Local Government Impact
The fiscal implications of the bill to units of local government cannot be determined at this time.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council