Fiscal Impact Analysis
2008 General Assembly Session
Fiscal impact statements give local governments a tool for notifying legislators of the likely costs of proposed state mandates before the bills become law.
General Information
- Fiscal Impact Analysis Purpose and Procedures >> PDF
- What Makes a Good Fiscal Impact Statement >> PDF
- Statutes Governing the Fiscal Impact Process (Code of Virginia) >> PDF
Purpose of the Fiscal Impact Analysis Process
During the legislative session, the Commission on Local Government (CLG) is required to file with the General Assembly a fiscal impact statement for each bill identified by the Division of Legislative Services as likely to impose on one or more local governments a net additional expenditure, a net reduction of revenues, or both. (Sections 30-19.03 and 30-19.03:1.1, Code of Virginia)
These fiscal impact statements, or fiscal notes, summarize the prospective effect of the bills on localities, based on the analyses of local officials from a representative cross-section of approximately fifty localities throughout the Commonwealth. The purpose of the fiscal impact analysis process is to ensure that legislators considering proposed new state mandates understand the costs that the bills would impose on localities before such legislation is enacted.
Procedures
Prior to the legislative session, the CLG establishes a network of volunteer local fiscal contacts with the help of the Virginia Municipal League (VML) and the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo). Because bills subject to analysis must be introduced on the first day of the session, the CLG receives notification of the bills to be examined as soon as the session commences and, after establishing priorities for the analysis with representatives of the VML and VACo, alerts network participants to begin their inquiries. Of the 30 to 50 bills referred to the CLG per year, participating local officials generally receive approximately 25 with the highest priority for analysis. CLG staff rely on information provided by network participants, supplemented by information from state agency representatives and independent research, to complete fiscal impact statements for all the bills referred. The CLG endeavors to file fiscal impact statements before the respective legislative committees take action on the bills, but in those cases where bills are amended, CLG staff base the fiscal impact statements on the amended versions of the bills and submit them before the General Assembly takes final action.
Communications with Members of the Fiscal Impact Network
The CLG's goal is to make participation in the response network as convenient as possible for local fiscal contacts. Most communications take place by e-mail and via the CLG's Web site. Members of the network can also maintain contact with CLG staff by telephone, U.S. mail, and fax. In addition, the CLG offers periodic fiscal impact training workshops. Once completed and filed with the General Assembly, local fiscal impact statements are posted on the Legislative Information System's Internet Web site.
The Official Comprehensive List of 2008 Bills Referred for Fiscal Impact Analysis
NOTE: All bills referred to the Commission on Local Government for local fiscal impact analysis are first posted in the list below. All bills in the Comprehensive List are assigned a priority. The CLG asks network participants to analyze only "A" and "B" priority bills. "Priority C" bills are those that CLG staff analyze without local input, although comments from network participants are welcome.
To view a bill in the priority listing below, click the bill link to download the "Summary as introduced"; then click the "Full text" link to download the full text of the bill.
- Complete listing of bills referred for fiscal analysis >>
As fiscal impact analyses are completed and filed with the General Assembly the bill links are removed from the priority listings and placed at Fiscal Impact Statements Filed.
Priority A and Priority B Bills
The local fiscal impact analysis for Priority A and Priority B Bills is complete. Go to Fiscal Impact Statements Filed.
Priority C Bills.
The local fiscal impact analysis for Priority C Bills is complete. Go toFiscal Impact Statements Filed.
Fiscal impact statements from previous General Assembly sessions are available online.
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