Bills, Budgets Fiscal Notes
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A Legislative Guide to Bills, Budgets & Fiscal Notes Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst W310 State Capitol Complex Salt Lake City, Utah 84114‐5310 Office (801) 538‐1034 FAX (801) 538‐1692 http://legislature.utah.gov/lfa/index.htm Revised 8‐2008 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 1 The Legislative Fiscal Analyst 3 How a Bill Becomes a Law 6 Bill Types 7 The Legislature Sets the State Budget 7 Consensus Revenue Estimates 8 All Legislators Sit on Budget Subcommittees 8 Budget Subcommittee Hearings 9 Ranking Funding Requests 10 Budget Bills 11 Performance Measures 12 Introduction to Fiscal Notes 13 What do Fiscal Notes Look Like? 14 Fiscal Note Types 14 The Analyst “Owns” the Note 15 Presession Budget Calendar 16 Session Calendar 19 The Fiscal Note Process 21 How to Respond to a Fiscal Note Worksheet 24 Fiscal Note Worksheet Tips 27 Glossary 35 Analysts by Assignment i Introduction This guide includes: • How a bill becomes law • Session rules, and deadlines • Budgets • Fiscal notes • Glossary of terms • Fiscal analysts by assignment The Legislative Fiscal Analyst The Legislative Fiscal Analyst (LFA or the Analyst) advises the Legislature on money matters. The Analyst: • Has a staff of about 20: analysts, economists, secretaries and DP support • Staffs Executive Appropriations Committee • Staffs ten appropriations subcommittees • Makes budget recommendations for state government • Writes fiscal notes • Writes the budget bills 1 How a Bill Becomes a Law A citizen advocate, special interest group, or government agency tells a legislator about a problem and the Legislator decides, “There ought to be a law.” (This example follows a bill that starts in the House of Representatives.) Attorneys Draft a Bill The legislator asks Legislative Research and General Counsel (LRGC) to draft legislation. An attorney: • Reviews existing law • Researches issues • Drafts legislation • Checks for statutory and constitutional problems Bill Approved & Published The attorney gives the bill to the legislator for review and approval. LGRC numbers approved bills. The legislator may then introduce the bill. LRGC sends copies to: • Senate or House docket clerk • Bill room • Internet • Fiscal Analyst (for a fiscal note) First Reading & Rules Committee The Speaker has the bill introduced with the first reading, and the bill goes to Rules Committee. The committee recommends to the Speaker which standing committee should hear the bill. 3 Standing Committee & Public Hearing The standing committee reviews the bill in a public meeting. The committee may: • Amend • Hold • Table • Substitute • Recommend the bill The Second Reading The H ouse hears the committee report and adopts it by motion. This is the Second Reading of three constitutionally required readings. The House puts the bill on the calendar for the Third Reading. The Third Reading & Floor Debate The clerk reads the bill by title a third time. The legisl ative sponsor explains the bill, and answers questions. The House debates and may amend or substi tute the bill. Vote on the Bill A prev i ous question motion closes debate. The Legisl ature requires a simple majority (38 of 75 repres entatives). Send Bill to the Senate If the bill passes, the House sends the bill to the Senate and requests Senate action. Senate First Reading & Rules Committee The clerk reads the bill’s title for first reading. Rules Committee recommends to the Senate President which standing committee should hear the bill. 4 Standing Committee Hearing The committee may: • Amend • Hold • Table • Substitute • Recommend the bill In the Senate, a previous question motion requires a committee majority vote. Legislators may not make this motion on the Senate floor. Bill Returned to Full Senate The Senate hears the committee report and pl aces the bill on the S econd Reading Calendar. Senate Second Reading & Debate The clerk reads the bill’s title a second time (Second Reading) and the Senate debates the bill. It must pass a floor vote to advance to third reading. Senate Third Reading, Debate, & Final Vote The clerk reads the bill’s title a third time (Third Reading) and the Senate debates the bill again. The bill needs a simple majority to pass (15 of 29 senators). Bill Signe d & Enrolled After the bill has passed both houses, the President and Speak er sign it. Legislative Research and General Couns el staff check the bill in a process called enroll ing. They prepare the bill in final form with all amendments included and return it to the House. This enrolled bill is an exact, accurate, and official copy of the enacted bill. 5 Bill Sent to Governor The Legislature prints the enrolled bill and sends a copy to the governor for approval. The governor can • Sign • Veto • Allow it to become law without his signature The Bill Becomes Law Bills become effective 60 days following session, unless the bill specifies another date. Bill Types Resolution (House or Senate) These only pertain to the house of origin. A bill establishing a committee or changing a rule is an example. Joint Resolution (House & Senate) Both the House and Senate must pass a joint resolution. The Legislature uses them for matters involving both houses such as appointing joint committees or issuing join communiqués. Proposals to amend the Utah Constitution are contained in joint r esoluti on s. Concurre nt Resolution (House & Senate, & Governor) These show the state’s position on a specific matter. The resolutions are passed by both houses and signed by the Governor. House Bill A House Bill is legislation sponsored by a member of the State House of Representatives. Senate Bill A Senate Bill is legislation sponsored by a member of the State Senate. 6 The Legislature Sets the State Budget The budget is the Legislature’s plan for spending the State’s limited resources. The budget funds all state agencies‐including prisons, schools, higher education, costly new bills, new buildings, debt service, and highways. Finding the right balance is the Legislature’s challenge. Consensus Revenue Estimates The Constitution requires a balanced state budget. The first step is to decide how much money is in the budget. To reduce disagreements, the LFA, the Governor, and the Tax Commission estimate income using their own methods. Then they meet together and agree on a single revenue estimate. All parties balance budgets to that amount. State funds are General, Education, and Uniform School Funds. 7 All Legislators Sit on Budget Subcommittees Utah’s appropriation process involves every legislator. Each member s its on one of ten Joint Appropriations Subco mmitte es . Some members sit on more than one. The c ommittee s are: • Executive Offices and Criminal Justice • Capital Facilities & Government Operations • Commerce and Workforce Services • Economic Development and Revenue • Health and Human Services • Higher Education • Natural Resources • Public Education • Transportation, Environmental Quality, and National Guard • Retirement & Independent Entities Budget Subcommittee Hearings The Legislature sets state budgets by passing spending bills. Legislators hold a series of hearings before they write the budget. In these hearings they: • Hear from staff analysts • Hear from program managers • Take public testimony • Measure program performance • Hold program managers accountable • Debate and vote on budgets Subcommittees report to Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC). EAC meets to make final decisions, often after caucus discussions. It then directs the Analyst to write the bills, which show the Legislature’s priorities set in dollars. 8 Ranking Funding Requests Since there is never enough money to fund everything, there needs to be a way to rank funding requests. The following questions help legislators prioritize spending requests. 1. Program Reduction‐‐Can the Legislature reduce or eliminate this program? What would happen? 2. Court Orders—What must the state fund due to legal rulings or settlements? 3. Federal Mandates‐‐What is the penalty for not funding federal program growth or matching ratio changes? 4. State Mandates—What must legislators fund to comply with state law? (The Legislature can change the law.) 5. Compensation—How much must the state pay to retain its workforce? 6. Enrollment Growth—How many new students are entering the public school system? 7. Workload—What does a program needed to serve more clients? 8. Program Maintenance—How much will it cost to cover anticipated expenses in an existing program? 9. Program Enhancement—How much should the Legislature allocate to expand or improve services? 10. New Programs—How much is left for new programs? 9 Budget Bills The budget is not in just one bill, but many: The Base Budget bill funds state agencies with the same budget as the current fiscal year but with one‐ time f unding removed. The Legislature passes the bill early in the session. The School Finance Bill funds the public education base budget. The bill changes the number of Weighted Pupil Units to account for changes in the number of students. The Current Fiscal Year Supplemental adds to and takes away from the budget year currently underway. The New Fiscal Year Supplemental, sometimes called the “Big Bill,” adds to and takes away from the Base Budget. It has all rates and fees. The Minimum School Program Amendments changes the value of the Weighted Pupil Unit and other public education programs. This is public education’s “Big Bill.” The Compensation Bill has all budget changes related to personnel costs. This includes salary adjustments, and insurance rate changes. It does not include school districts. The General Obligation Bond Bill authorizes general obligation bonds and projects. The Revenue Bond Bill authorizes (by project) state and higher education lease and revenue bonds. Appropriations Adjustments is known as the “Bill of Bills” because it funds each bill passed with a fiscal note. It is the last spending bill passed and contains last minute changes. 10 Performance Measures Mission statements and the Utah Code say what most agencies should be doing.