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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Trujillo

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/06

HB 377

SHORT TITLE Public Integrity and White Collar Crime Unit

SB

ANALYST Medina

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$229.6

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

First Judicial District Attorney (1

st

JDA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 377 appropriates $229.6 from the general fund to the First Judicial District Attorney

for the purpose of supporting a public integrity and white collar crime unit that investigates and

prosecutes crimes involving the abuse and neglect of public funds.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $229.6 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to general fund. Any un-

expended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert to the

general fund.

The First Judicial District Attorney is budgeted to receive $85.4 from the Taxation and Revenue

Department in FY06 for the two agencies to cooperate on the prosecution of tax fraud and abuse

cases. This amount is expected to increase to $91.9 for salaries and benefits for a senior prosecu-

tor in FY07.

House Bill 377 – Page

2

The intent of this bill is to expand the scope of the First Judicial District Attorney’s investigation

and prosecutorial abilities to include other crimes affecting public funds in government agencies.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

According to the First Judicial District Attorney, the appropriation in this bill would support

three additional FTE that would enhance the district attorney’s ability to prosecute and investi-

gate theft, fraud and corruption cases in state and local government.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The LFC recommended an appropriation of $137.2 in settlement funds to the Attorney General

for the investigation of public funds fraud and abuse cases.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Should this bill and the $137.2 appropriation to the Attorney General not be enacted, the only

significant effort to monitor and prosecute public funds fraud and abuse will continue to be a

single prosecutor in the First Judicial District Attorney’s office, who works in cooperation with

the Taxation and Revenue Department and specializes in tax fraud cases.

DXM/nt