FISCAL NOTES 2013 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

OCTOBER 4, 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: OPB adds fiscal note assessment to Bill Tracker Unit prepares fiscal note data within Bill Tracker Request received from OFM OPB adds fiscal note to State-wide system OPB reviews and approves fiscal note for accuracy and completeness Fiscal Note submitte d to OFM UW responds to revision requests as needed OFM distributes fiscal note OFM approves Fiscal Note

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 date 9.Estimates for out-years include inflation 8.Estimates reported do not match the narrative 7.FTE box shows total salary amount (It should show 1.5 FTE, or 2.0 FTE) 6.Total expenditures by Fiscal Year do not match the total expenditures when the line items are added up 5. Underlying assumptions are not explicit enough 4.Benefits are not reported separately (they should be a separate line item) 3. Narrative is too technical 2.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: alnoteinstructions.pdf OFM’s Fund Look-up: OFM’s Fiscal Note Look-up: WA Legislature Home (for bill search, law search, etc.): 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 Gill Phone: (206) Rebecca “Becka” Johnson Phone: (206) Kateri Schlessman Phone: (206)

OCTOBER 4, 2010 Office of State Relations Blog: OPBlog: Higher Ed Junction For Information Updates During Session