22. FISCAL NOTES


(a) The Office of Legislative Legal Services shall furnish preliminary copies of each bill and concurrent resolution to the Legislative Council staff in order that it may commence its review of the fiscal impact of such measures in accordance with this rule, but the Legislative Council staff shall not reveal the contents or nature of such measures to any other person without the consent of the sponsor of the measure.

(b) (1) The Legislative Council staff shall review each printed bill and concurrent resolution, except bills limited to appropriations measures carrying specific dollar amounts, for its fiscal impact. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection (b), the Legislative Council staff shall provide the chairman of the committee of reference to which the measure was assigned and the prime sponsor of the measure in each house a fiscal note, according to the form or forms approved by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, or a statement that the measure has no fiscal impact. A fiscal note shall indicate whether the measure will have a fiscal impact on state government, local government, or the state's economy. The committee chairman shall provide copies of the fiscal note or the statement of no fiscal impact for all members of the committee of reference.

(2) In the case of a printed bill that has not yet been considered by the first committee of reference to which the bill has been assigned, the prime sponsor of the printed bill may request the Legislative Council staff to prepare a fiscal note for a proposed amendment to the bill that strikes everything below the enacting clause or a statement that the proposed amendment has no fiscal impact. Such fiscal note or statement of no fiscal impact shall be prepared in lieu of the fiscal note on the printed bill that is otherwise required in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection (b). In order to make such a request, the prime sponsor shall:

(A) Provide to the Legislative Council staff a copy of the proposed amendment to the bill that strikes everything below the enacting clause and, if the printed bill was introduced in the Senate, written permission for the request granted by two of the following three individuals: The President of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate or, if the printed bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, written permission for the request granted by two of the following three individuals: The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, and the minority leader of the House of Representatives; and

(B) Authorize the Legislative Council staff to publicly release the proposed amendment to the bill that strikes everything below the enacting clause immediately after the prime sponsor has provided to the Legislative Council staff the documents required pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (2).

(c) Fiscal notes shall be updated to conform to changes made in the measure in accordance with the rules of the Senate and rules of the House of Representatives.

(d) The Joint Budget Committee staff may be requested by the chairman of the committee of reference, with the approval of the committee on delayed bills of the house having possession of the measure, to review any fiscal note or statement of no fiscal impact prepared by the Legislative Council staff and to prepare comments. Such comments shall be delivered to the chairman of the committee of reference of the house having possession of the measure and be duplicated for use of all members of both houses.

(e) A fiscal note shall cite the statutes affected, any estimated increases or decreases in revenue or expenditures of the state or of local governments, any impact on the state's economy, any costs which may be absorbed without additional funding, and to the extent possible, the long range fiscal implications of the measure. No comment or opinion relative to the merits of any measure shall be included in any fiscal note.

(f) In the case of a resolution, other than a resolution relating to the legislative department, which has any fiscal implication, the sponsor thereof may request a fiscal note or a statement of no fiscal impact from the Legislative Council staff prior to its introduction, or if such resolution, upon introduction, be referred to a committee of reference, such committee may request a fiscal note or statement of no fiscal impact, identifying the resolution by reference to the pages of the journal wherein it appears.