Washington § 43.132.020 - Fiscal notes — Preparation — Contents — Scope — Revisions — Reports.

The director of financial management or the director's designee shall, in cooperation with appropriate legislative committees and legislative staff, establish a mechanism for the determination of the fiscal impact of proposed legislation which if enacted into law would directly or indirectly increase or decrease revenues received or expenditures incurred by counties, cities, towns, or any other units of local government. For purposes of this section, "unit of local government" includes school districts to the extent that the proposed legislation affects school districts in the same manner as it affects other units of local government. Where proposed legislation uniquely affects school districts, a school district fiscal note must be prepared under the process established in RCW 28A.300.0401. The office of financial management shall, when requested by a member of the state legislature, report in writing as to such fiscal impact and said report shall be known as a "fiscal note".

Such fiscal notes shall indicate by fiscal year the total impact on the local governments involved for the first two years the legislation would be in effect and also a cumulative six year forecast of the fiscal impact. Where feasible and applicable, the fiscal note also shall indicate the fiscal impact on each individual county or on a representative sampling of cities, towns, or other units of local government.

A fiscal note as defined in this section shall be provided only upon request of any member of the state legislature. A request for a fiscal note on legislation shall be considered to be a continuing request for a fiscal note on any formal alteration of the legislation in the form of amendments to the legislation that are adopted by a committee or a house of the legislature or a substitute version of such legislation that is adopted by a committee and preparation of the fiscal note on the prior version of the legislation shall stop, unless the legislator requesting the fiscal note specifies otherwise or the altered version is first adopted or enacted in the last week of a legislative session.

Fiscal notes shall be completed within one week of the request unless a longer time period is allowed by the requesting legislator. In the event a fiscal note has not been completed within one week of a request, a daily report shall be prepared for the requesting legislator by the director of financial management which report summarizes the progress in preparing the fiscal note. If the request is referred to the director of commerce, the daily report shall also include the date and time such referral was made.

Intent—2000 c 182: "It is the intent of the legislature to enhance the local government fiscal note process by providing for updated fiscal information on pending legislation and to establish a process for a more comprehensive report on the fiscal impacts to local governments arising from laws that have been enacted. Further, it is the intent of the legislature that the varying effects of legislation on different local governments be recognized. This act is enacted in recognition of the responsibilities imposed by RCW 43.135.060." [ 2000 c 182 s 1.]