FISCAL NOTE TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1710

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: May 29, 1996

      Assembly Bill No. 1710 of 1996 would increase filing fees in the Supreme and Appellate Courts as well as in the Law, Chancery and Special Civil Divisions of the Supreme Court in order to provide an annual appropriation to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to provide legal assistance to the poor in civil matters through Legal Services of New Jersey.

      The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) states that civil and equity filing have been decreasing since 1991. It is projected that this trend will continue and there will be an annual decrease in civil of 2 percent and in equity of 4 percent.

      The AOC notes that based upon the proposed increases in the fee schedule, and assuming that the number of filings will not decrease as a result of the higher fees, the State will collect an additional $7.78 million in FY1997 and $7.7 million in FY1998. According to the AOC, in FY1992, when special civil fees were increased, filings decreased by 15 percent. Thus, the above stated revenue figures may be higher than actual collections.

      The AOC also states that it will incur a one-time cost of $120,000 to reprogram its data processing equipment, as well as an ongoing expense of $13,000 to fund the services of a part time Principal Clerk/Bookkeeper to monitor reports and allocate fees.

      The Office of Legislative Services concurs.

This fiscal note has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.