HCR 61: requesting A study EXAMINING how certain other jurisdictions produce fiscal notes.

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting A study EXAMINING how certain other jurisdictions produce fiscal notes.

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Constitution assigns the authority to appropriate funds to the Hawaii State Legislature; and

     WHEREAS, during each Regular Session, the Legislature considers hundreds of spending- and tax-related bills that may have an impact on the State's budget; and

     WHEREAS, members of the Hawaii State Legislature would benefit from having accurate and useful information about the fiscal impacts of those bills; and

     WHEREAS, in many other states, legislators analyzing fiscal measures may refer to fiscal notes, which are written reports that project the budget impacts of some or all bills; and

     WHEREAS, among the states that use fiscal notes, the procedures used to produce the notes and the information contained within the reports differ dramatically from state to state; and

     WHEREAS, for example, in most states, fiscal notes are produced by a nonpartisan legislative fiscal office, while in other states, fiscal notes are produced by an executive branch agency that is involved in development of the executive budget, or in a few states, by a legislative committee; and

     WHEREAS, similarly, some states require fiscal notes to be produced for every bill that may have a significant financial impact, while other states produce fiscal notes only for select bills or upon the request of legislators; and

     WHEREAS, some states project the costs of legislation for a single fiscal year, while other states project the costs of legislation for multiple fiscal years; for example, projections in twelve states and the District of Columbia include four or more years; and

     WHEREAS, some states require fiscal notes to be updated each time a bill is amended during the legislative process, while other states do not require such revisions; and

     WHEREAS, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in its report entitled "Better Cost Estimates, Better Budgets," noted that Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, and the District of Columbia meet all of its best practices criteria in the production of fiscal notes, because those jurisdictions:

     (1)  Prepare fiscal notes for all bills and revise the fiscal notes as the bills move through the legislative process;

     (2)  Create fiscal notes in a manner that is free from partisan pressure;

     (3)  Project the long-term fiscal impacts of proposed legislation; and

     (4)  Make fiscal notes accessible to the public; and

     WHEREAS, presently, the Hawaii State Legislature's budget committees work with the executive branch to estimate the fiscal impacts of legislative proposals; however, there are no formal fiscal notes produced; and

     WHEREAS, although Act 127, Session Laws of Hawaii 1990, established an Office of the Legislative Analyst under chapter 21F, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as a separate fiscal policy office in the legislative branch, it has never been funded; and

     WHEREAS, according to section 21F-7(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the purposes of the Office of the Legislative Analyst include:

     (1)  Providing the Legislature with research and analysis of current and projected state revenues and expenditures;

     (2)  Researching economic and fiscal policy;

     (3)  Providing economic reports and studies on the state of Hawaii's economy;

     (4)  Conducting budget and tax studies and providing general fiscal and budgetary information;

     (5)  Reviewing the operation of state programs to appraise the implementation of state laws regarding the expenditure of funds and recommending means to improve efficiency; and

     (6)  Recommending changes in the mix of revenue sources for programs, in the percentage of state expenditures devoted to major programs, and in the role of the Legislature in overseeing state government expenditures and revenue projections; and

     WHEREAS, section 21F-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires state agencies to comply with requests of the Office of the Legislative Analyst for information, data, estimates, and statistics, and requires the heads of certain agencies to provide the Office of the Legislative Analyst with full and free access to information, data, estimates, and statistics on the state budget, revenue, and expenditures; and

     WHEREAS, accordingly, it would be beneficial to study how other states generate fiscal notes to determine which state model, if any, would work best for Hawaii; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the Senate concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to study how Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, and the District of Columbia produce fiscal notes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, for each jurisdiction examined, the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to analyze:

     (1)  The statute, rule, or other authority governing the preparation of fiscal notes;

     (2)  The types of bills for which fiscal notes are produced;

     (3)  At what points during the legislative process fiscal notes are produced and revised;

     (4)  The type of information included in the fiscal note;

     (5)  The entity responsible for producing the fiscal note;

     (6)  The time period for which the jurisdiction must project financial impacts; and

     (7)  Any other matters that the Legislative Reference Bureau believes may be helpful or significant for the purposes of the study; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Report Title:

LRB; Fiscal Notes; Study; Other Jurisdictions

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1960

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.C.R. No. 61

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 61 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING A STUDY EXAMINING HOW CERTAIN OTHER JURISDICTIONS PRODUCE FISCAL NOTES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Legislative Reference Bureau to study how Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, and the District of Columbia produce fiscal notes.

     More specifically, this measure requests that the study include, for each of the six jurisdictions, an analysis of:

     (1)  The statute, rule, or other authority governing the preparation of fiscal notes;

     (2)  The types of [legislative] bills for which fiscal notes are produced;

     (3)  The points during the legislative process in which fiscal notes are produced and revised;

     (4)  The type of information included in the fiscal note;

     (5)  The entity responsible for producing the fiscal note;

     (6)  The time period for which the jurisdiction must project financial impacts; and

     (7)  Any other matters that the Bureau believes may be helpful or significant.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Hawai`i Children's Action Network Speaks!, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, ACLU of Hawaii, and one individual.

     Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Legislative Reference Bureau.

     Your Committee finds that fiscal notes are written reports that analyze or project the budget impacts of legislative bills.  The procedures used to produce fiscal notes and the information contained within the reports differ dramatically from state to state.  Your Committee further finds that studying how certain other jurisdictions generate fiscal notes would be beneficial to determine which model, if any, would best provide useful information for Hawaii's lawmakers.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 61, and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1794

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   H.C.R. No. 61

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 61 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING A STUDY EXAMINING HOW CERTAIN OTHER JURISDICTIONS PRODUCE FISCAL NOTES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request a study examining how certain other jurisdictions produce fiscal notes.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Legislative Reference Bureau.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 61 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,