Fiscal Note & Local Impact Statement
127 th General Assembly of Ohio
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BILL: |
DATE: |
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STATUS: |
SPONSOR: |
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LOCAL IMPACT
STATEMENT REQUIRED: |
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CONTENTS: |
Limitations on bills specifying new or increased jail terms,
prison terms, or delinquent child commitments |
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STATE FUND |
FY 2009 |
FY 2010 |
FUTURE YEARS |
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General Revenue Fund and
Other State Funds |
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Revenues |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
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Expenditures |
Potential one-time
increase, minimal at most |
- 0 - |
- 0 - |
Note: The state
fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
For example, FY 2009 is July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009.
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Task force. Task force
members will serve without compensation, but are to be reimbursed for actual
expenses incurred in performing their duties, for example, travel, parking,
lodging, and meals. The bill is silent
as to who is responsible for covering these reimbursable expenses. The bill is also silent on the matter of who
would provide the task force with any services and support necessary to perform
its duties. The task force's operating
expenses are best viewed as one-time in nature and likely to be no more than
minimal, which means an estimated cost to the state of less than $100,000.
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General Assembly and Legislative Service Commission. The bill's requirements relative to actions of the General
Assembly and duties of LSC have no direct state fiscal effect.
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No
direct fiscal effect on political subdivisions of the state.
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Overview
From a fiscal perspective,
the bill most notably:
·
Establishes
limitations on bills specifying a new or increased jail term, prison term, or
delinquent child commitment.
·
Requires
the Legislative Service Commission (LSC) to include in its fiscal analyses an
estimate for the cost of the term or commitment.
·
Creates
a task force to establish a state policy to limit, and plan for, future
increases in the number of criminal offenders in correctional facilities and
delinquent children in Department of Youth Services facilities.
State fiscal effects
Limitations on the General
Assembly regarding certain bills
The bill places limitations
on the General Assembly relative to bills specifying new or increased jail
terms, prison terms, or delinquent child commitments, including: (1) requiring the designation of the source
of funds from which the confinement costs will be paid, (2) prohibiting a
committee from reporting, or either chamber from passing, a bill that fails to
designate the source of funds, and (3) providing that the failure to comply
with these limitations is an invalid action and any person may bring an action
to enforce the requirements. The direct
fiscal effect of these provisions may be to increase decision-making costs in
order for a committee or chamber to comply with the limitations that would be
placed on certain bills.
Arguably, relative to state
and local fiscal effects, the notable feature of the limitations may be more
indirect, as members presumably would have to consider the cost of confinement
and how those costs would be paid. The
manner in which future revenues and expenditures of the state or any of its
political subdivisions might be affected is uncertain and difficult to predict.
LSC fiscal analysis
The bill requires LSC to
prepare a fiscal analysis, including a cost estimate, for any bill that
establishes a new or increased confinement for a new or existing criminal
prohibition. Under current law, LSC fiscal staff:
(1) prepares fiscal notes on various bills to inform members of the
General Assembly of the estimated cost of implementing a proposed bill and the
probable fiscal impact of the bill, and (2) prepares local impact statements
for each bill appearing to affect the expenditures of a county, municipal
corporation, township, school district, or other governmental entity. All of this information is distributed to
members under a single document formally known as LSC's Fiscal Note &
Local Impact Statement. As the bill's
provisions do not fundamentally alter the manner in which fiscal analysis of
legislation is currently performed, there will be no fiscal effect on LSC.
Task force
The bill requires that not
later than 90 days after the bill's effective date, the Governor and the
General Assembly create a task force of "a reasonable number of
members" to establish a policy to limit, and plan for, future increases in
the number of criminal offenders incarcerated in prisons and jails and the
number of delinquent children committed to the custody of the Department of
Youth Services. Not later than one year
after the effective date of the bill, the task force is required to submit a
report to certain legislative leaders and the Governor, after which it ceases
to exist.
Operating expenses. Task force members will serve without compensation, but are to be
reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in performing their duties, for
example, travel, parking, lodging, and meals.
The bill is silent as to who is responsible for covering these
reimbursable expenses. The bill is also
silent on the matter of who would provide the task force with any services and
support necessary to perform its duties.
The task force's operating expenses are best viewed as one-time in
nature and likely to be no more than minimal, which means an estimated cost to
the state of less than $100,000.
Local fiscal effects
The bill has no discernible
direct fiscal effect on political subdivisions of the state.
LSC fiscal staff: Joseph Rogers, Senior Budget Analyst