H-3429.1

HOUSE BILL 2224

State of Washington
66th Legislature
2020 Regular Session
ByRepresentatives Walsh, Van Werven, and Irwin
Prefiled 12/09/19.Read first time 01/13/20.Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations.
AN ACT Relating to fiscal impact statements on state ballot measures; and amending RCW 29A.72.025.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 29A.72.025 and 2009 c 415 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
The office of financial management, in consultation with the secretary of state, the attorney general, and any other appropriate state or local agency, shall prepare a fiscal impact statement for each of the following state ballot measures: (1) An initiative to the people that is certified to the ballot; (2) an initiative to the legislature that will appear on the ballot; (3) an alternative measure appearing on the ballot that the legislature proposes to an initiative to the legislature; (4) a referendum bill referred to voters by the legislature; and (5) a referendum measure appearing on the ballot. Fiscal impact statements must be written in clear and concise language, avoid legal and technical terms when possible, and be filed with the secretary of state no later than the tenth day of August. Fiscal impact statements may include easily understood graphics.
A fiscal impact statement must describe any projected increase or decrease in revenues, costs, expenditures, or indebtedness that the state or local governments will experience if the ballot measure were approved by state voters. Where appropriate, a fiscal impact statement may include both estimated dollar amounts and a description placing the estimated dollar amounts into context. A fiscal impact statement must include both a summary of not to exceed one hundred words and a more detailed statement that includes the assumptions that were made to develop the fiscal impacts.
If the estimated fiscal impact of a ballot measure is indeterminate, the office of financial management must provide a reasonable projection of the range of potential fiscal impact, based on reputable methods of fiscal analysis.
Fiscal impact statements must be available online from the secretary of state's web site and included in the state voters' pamphlet. Additional information may be posted on the web site of the office of financial management.
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