HB 1559-S - DIGEST

(DIGEST OF PROPOSED 1ST SUBSTITUTE)

     Directs the office of financial management, in consultation with the secretary of state, department of revenue, other state agencies, selected local governments and associations of local governments, and legislative fiscal staff, when appropriate,  to prepare a fiscal note for each initiative to the people the petition for which has been filed with the secretary of state under RCW 29.79.140(2) and for each initiative to the legislature that will appear on the ballot, including a separate fiscal note for any alternative measure appearing on the ballot that is proposed by the legislature.

     Provides that a fiscal note must describe any projected increases or decreases in revenues, costs, expenditures, or indebtedness that the state and local governments will experience if the initiative or alternative measure were approved by state voters.  A fiscal note must include a summary not exceeding one hundred words and a more detailed statement that includes the assumptions that were made to develop the fiscal impacts.

     Provides that, in addition to other information on an initiative required to be included in the voters' pamphlet, the secretary of state shall include the fiscal note and responses to the fiscal note prepared for the initiative under this act.  This additional information must be presented highlighting the executive summary.

     Provides that both the committee advocating approval of an initiative and the committee advocating rejection of an initiative may submit responses to a fiscal note prepared under this act.  Each response must be in two parts, with the first part being an argument not to exceed two hundred fifty words in length, and the second part being a rebuttal to the first part prepared by the other side not to exceed seventy-five words in length.  The responses must be prepared and processed in a similar manner to the preparation and processing of arguments under RCW 29.81.290.