fiscal notes 2013 legislative session. october 4, 2010 2 what is a fiscal note? statement of fiscal...
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FISCAL NOTES 2013 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
OCTOBER 4, 2010 2
What is a Fiscal Note?
Statement of fiscal impact of a legislative proposal. A fiscal
note is always tied to a specific version of a bill, and each time it
is revised a new fiscal note is requested.
Used by legislators as they evaluate the merits and costs of a
particular bill.
Used by agency and legislative staff, journalists, lobbyists or
other stakeholders.
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Fiscal Note Request Timeline
Office of Financial Management (OFM) assigns a 72-hour, three day deadline:
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Elements of a Fiscal Note
Summary: describe how the legislation impacts the UW Cash Receipts (taxes and fees): describe and quantify
estimated impact on cash receipts for the UW Expenditures: describe and quantify expenditures
necessary to implement the legislation as written; include assumptions made for all calculations
FTEs: list the job title, annual salary and number of FTEs required to implement the legislation
Capital: identify acquisition and construction costs not reflected elsewhere and describe potential financing
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Responding to a Fiscal Note Request
1. Read the bill
2. Review relevant laws and budgets
3. Calculate and describe the fiscal impacts both in the
narrative and in the table
4. Coordinate your response with other parties
5. Submit your response to OPB via Bill Tracker
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Tips for a Fiscal Note Request Response
Report on the bill’s impact only to the UW Only report the net impact of the bill Identify estimates as one-time or on-going Make sure your implementation dates reflect your
assumptions (You cannot have a center running at 100% on July 1, 2013 no matter how great of a planner you are.)
Identify and explain ALL assumptions If there is no fiscal impact, we need to know why! Please write for the general population by avoiding jargon
and spelling out acronyms
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Top Ten Most Common Mistakes
10. Estimates do not take into account the implementation date9.Estimates for out-years include inflation10.Estimates reported do not match the narrative11.FTE box shows total salary amount (It should show 1.5 FTE, or 2.0 FTE)12.Total expenditures by Fiscal Year do not match the total expenditures when the line items are added up5. Underlying assumptions are not explicit enough4.Benefits are not reported separately (they should be a separate line item)3. Narrative is too technical2.Narrative is argumentative or addresses the merits of the bill (that is what Bill Tracker is for)
AND….1. No Response
OCTOBER 4, 2010
When a Bill Involves More Than One Agency
Coordinate assumptions with involved agencies Make sure there are no double-counts, omissions or
contradictions between agency fiscal notes If funds will be received via an inter-agency agreement or
contract, report an off-setting reimbursement figure in the expenditures section
Ex. According to a bill, UW will contract with DOH for $X to complete a study. Report all related expenditures by object, including an off-setting negative amount representing $X from DOH. The total $ expended should equal $0, and DOH must reflect the same figures in their own fiscal note.
OCTOBER 4, 2010
When the Cost is Indeterminate
Sometimes there are too many unknowns to make a reasonable estimate of fiscal impact
In such case, we cite the fiscal impact of the bill as ‘indeterminate’, but must still must provide information and/or a range of scenarios that provide a sense of scale
Ex: “Cash receipt impacts under this bill cannot be determined prior to the setting of annual tuition increases by the University of Washington Board of Regents. To provide a general idea of the yield of tuition increases, the UW has calculated the following:Each one percent increase in tuition (operating fee only) across all students except resident undergraduates generates a net increase of about $1.66 million. This figure is an approximation and based on the following assumptions…”
OCTOBER 4, 2010
When the Cost is Small and May Be Absorbed
There are instances when the costs associated with a bill are small and can be absorbed by existing resources
In such cases we can cite ‘no fiscal impact,’ but must provide some information about the scale of the costs and what existing activities or efforts might be displaced in order to accommodate the legislation
Ex: “Service on a board such as the one this bill creates is often an expenditure that the UW is willing to absorb with existing resources, particularly if the board member is reimbursed for direct participation expenditures by the State.”
OCTOBER 4, 2010
When You Have Concerns About a Bill
A fiscal note must only be used to provide an objective estimate of the fiscal impact the proposed legislation will have on the UW
If you have opinions about the merits of a bill, please communicate them separately from the fiscal note
Such issues will be addressed through State Relations in ways that may include your written or oral testimony, suggested language changes or clarifications, etc.
OCTOBER 4, 2010
OFM’s 2011Fiscal Note Instructions:
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/instructions/other/agencyfisc
alnoteinstructions.pdf
OFM’s Fund Look-up:
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/fund/
OFM’s Fiscal Note Look-up:
https://fortress.wa.gov/ofm/fnspublic/
WA Legislature Home (for bill search, law search, etc.):
www.leg.wa.gov
Additional Fiscal Note Resources
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Fiscal Note Assistance
Please direct fiscal note inquiries to the analyst that sent you the fiscal note:
Mandy GillE-mail: [email protected] Phone: (206) 543-6277
Rebecca “Becka” JohnsonE-mail: [email protected] Phone: (206) 616-7203
Kateri SchlessmanE-mail: [email protected] Phone: (206) 543-3542
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Office of State Relations Blog:http://www.washington.edu/staterelations/
OPBlog: Higher Ed Junctionhttp://depts.washington.edu/opbblog/
For Information Updates During Session