FISCAL NOTE



FUND(S):

8854

Sources of Revenue:

Other Fund Federal

Legislation creates:

Neither Program nor Fund



Fiscal Note Summary


Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.


This measure will potentially impact state costs and revenues in five areas: 1) Costs associated with the development/deployment/maintenance of a voter data "subscription service;" 2) There will be revised revenue estimates for state-produced data sets based upon the new proposed pricing structure; 3) The anticipated shift of some data set-production workload from the counties to the state will potentially result in a revenue increase; 4) The transfer of "program income" generated by counties to the State Election Fund; and 5) The state will now retain 100% of state-generated "program income" for deposit into the State Election Fund. "Program Income" is defined as net proceeds remaining after list preparation-related expenses are subtracted from the gross receipts from voter data sales.



Fiscal Note Detail


Effect of Proposal Fiscal Year
2012
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
2013
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation)
1. Estmated Total Cost 10,000 0 0
Personal Services 0 0 0
Current Expenses 10,000 0 0
Repairs and Alterations 0 0 0
Assets 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0
2. Estimated Total Revenues 40,000 3,000 -15,000


Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):


The above increases and decreases are based on the FY 2011 baseline. The increase in Estimated Total Cost for FY 2012 will be a one-time expense (Current Expense) for the development of the infrastructure for the Subscription Service - The cost estimate for this fiscal component is based upon anticiated expenditures for required license fees, contracted services for programming/consultation, and minimal hardware/software purchases for system infrastructure development. The changes in Estimated Total Revenues are based on the following: 1) Revised State-generated Revenue - The annual estimate is derived from a recalculation of four years of division gross receipts, recalculated using the proposed pricing structure, and averaged to reflect a single-year income estimate (the estimated hourly charge for "custom" lists is $50.00/hour). 2) Workload Shift - The estimated additional revenue is calculated on communications from 9% of County Clerks indicating their intent to redirect list requests to the state, when possible, rather than produce the data in-house. The respondents were jurisdictions with limited internal resources and the expected impact on state personnel resources is negligible. 3) Transfer of "program income" from counties to the state - The estimated revenue from this fiscal element is based upon applying the revised pricing structure for county-generated lists to historical county-generated list sales volume less anticipated county expenditures for list production (resulting in projected county program income to be transferred to the state election fund). 4) Retention of 100% State-Generated Program Income - The estimate is based upon the portion of state-generated program income previously directed to counties, as reported in the audit of HAVA funds conducted by the Office of the Inspector General of the U. S. Elections Assistance Commission. The audited period covered four years; the annual estimate is based on an average of sales during that four year period. "Four years" represent the typical election cycle of two federal elections and all intervening state and local elections. Gross receipts from list sales vary widely based upon the nature of the races and issues on the ballot in any given year.



Memorandum






    Person submitting Fiscal Note: Brian Messer
    Email Address: bmesser@wvsos.com