GA Code § 28-5-45 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 28 - General Assembly|Chapter 5 - Financial Affairs|Article 3 - Fiscal Bills Generally|§ 28-5-45. (Effective July 1, 2022) Fiscal Dedication Analysis; Requirements; Requesting Analysis; Attachment to Legislative Bills

  Any bill that provides for the dedication of funds pursuant to Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI(r) of the Constitution of Georgia shall not be considered by the General Assembly without a fiscal dedication analysis attached to the bill, and in the case of a regular session, such a bill shall be introduced not later than the twentieth day of such regular session. Any such bill shall not carry over from one regular session to the next, but must be reintroduced with a new or revised fiscal dedication analysis.     A fiscal dedication analysis shall include a reliable estimate in dollars of the amount of revenue dedicated pursuant to the provisions of the bill, as well as a statement as to the immediate effect and, if determinable or reasonably foreseeable, the long-range effect of the measure. The fiscal dedication analysis shall also contain the total amount of funds presently dedicated pursuant to the authority granted by Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI(r) of the Constitution of Georgia, the proportion of the total 1 percent imposed by such constitutional provision that the measure at issue would constitute, and the amount and proportion of the tota1 1 percent cap that would remain if the bill becomes law. The fiscal dedication analysis shall also contain a warning regarding any probable or immediately foreseeable conditions by which the bill may cause the 1 percent cap to be exceeded at any time during the period for which the bill is effective.   If, after careful investigation, it is determined that no dollar estimate is possible, the fiscal dedication analysis shall contain a statement to that effect, setting forth the reasons why no dollar estimate can be given. In this event, the fiscal dedication analysis shall contain an example based on a specific situation or reflecting the average group of persons possibly affected by the bill so as to provide an indication of the cost of such bill to the General Assembly. Assumptions used to develop these averages shall be noted in the fiscal dedication analysis and the criteria included herein shall constitute a fiscal dedication analysis.   No comment or opinion regarding the merits of the measure for which the statement is prepared shall be included in the fiscal dedication analysis; however, technical or mechanical defects may be noted.   The state auditor and the director of the Office of Planning and Budget shall jointly prepare their fiscal dedication analysis; and, if there is a difference of opinion between such officials, it shall be noted in the fiscal dedication analysis.       A member who intends to introduce a bill that requires a fiscal dedication analysis shall request a fiscal dedication analysis from the Office of Planning and Budget and the Department of Audits and Accounts by December 1 of the year preceding the annual convening of the General Assembly in which the bill is to be introduced, but subsequent to the preparation of such bill by the Office of Legislative Counsel. The director of the Office of Planning and Budget and the state auditor shall prepare and submit each such timely requested fiscal dedication analysis not later than the day of convening of the General Assembly.   During any regular or special session of the General Assembly, only the chairperson of a committee to which a particular bill is assigned may request a new or revised fiscal dedication analysis for a bill. In such cases, the director of the Office of Planning and Budget and the state auditor shall prepare and submit the fiscal dedication analysis within five days after receipt of the request or within ten days if the director of the Office of Planning and Budget and the state auditor submit a jointly signed notice of a necessary extension of time so informing the requester in writing and shall be allowed to submit said analysis not later than ten days after the request for it is made.     Each fiscal dedication analysis required by this Code section shall be attached to the bill by the chairperson of the committee to which the bill is assigned and shall be read to the members of each respective house of the General Assembly at the third reading of the bill. In addition, a copy of each fiscal dedication analysis or revision thereto required by this Code section shall be distributed to each member of the respective house of the General Assembly before which the bill is pending prior to any such bill being voted upon by such house of the General Assembly.     (Code 1981, §28-5-45, enacted by Ga. L. 2021, p. 761, § 11/HB 511.)   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 2021, p. 761, § 23/HB511, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "In accordance with the requirements of Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI(r) of the Constitution of Georgia, this Act shall not become law unless it receives the requisite two thirds' majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and the amount of the funds dedicated by this Act do not equal or exceed 1 percent of the previous fiscal year's state revenues subject to appropriations."