2023 Utah Code › Title 20A - Election Code › Chapter 7 - Issues Submitted to the Voters › Part 5 - Local Initiatives - Procedures › Section 502.5 - Initial fiscal and legal impact estimate -- Preparation of estimate.

Effective 5/3/2023
20A-7-502.5.
Initial fiscal and legal impact statement -- Preparation of statement.
(1) Within three business days after the day on which the local clerk receives an initiative application, the local clerk shall submit a copy of the initiative application to the county, city, or town's budget officer.
(2)
(a) The budget officer, together with legal counsel, shall prepare an unbiased, good faith initial fiscal and legal impact statement for the proposed law that contains:
(i) a dollar amount representing the total estimated fiscal impact of the proposed law;
(ii) if the proposed law would increase or decrease taxes, a dollar amount representing the total estimated increase or decrease for each type of tax affected under the proposed law and a dollar amount representing the total estimated increase or decrease in taxes under the proposed law;
(iii) if the proposed law would increase taxes, the tax percentage difference and the tax percentage increase;
(iv) if the proposed law would result in the issuance or a change in the status of bonds, notes, or other debt instruments, a dollar amount representing the total estimated increase or decrease in public debt under the proposed law;
(v) a listing of all sources of funding for the estimated costs associated with the proposed law showing each source of funding and the percentage of total funding provided from each source;
(vi) a dollar amount representing the estimated costs or savings, if any, to state and local government entities under the proposed law;
(vii) the proposed law's legal impact, including:
(A) any significant effects on a person's vested property rights;
(B) any significant effects on other laws or ordinances;
(C) any significant legal liability the city, county, or town may incur; and
(D) any other significant legal impact as determined by the budget officer and the legal counsel; and
(viii) a concise explanation, not exceeding 100 words, of the information described in this Subsection (2)(a) and of the estimated fiscal impact, if any, under the proposed law.
(b)
(i) If the proposed law is estimated to have no fiscal impact, the local budget officer shall include a summary statement in the initial fiscal impact and legal statement in substantially the following form:
"The (title of the local budget officer) estimates that the law proposed by this initiative would have no significant fiscal impact and would not result in either an increase or decrease in taxes or debt."
(ii) If the proposed law is estimated to have a fiscal impact, the local budget officer shall include a summary statement in the initial fiscal impact and legal statement in substantially the following form:
"The (title of the local budget officer) estimates that the law proposed by this initiative would result in a total fiscal expense/savings of $______, which includes a (type of tax or taxes) tax increase/decrease of $______ and a $______ increase/decrease in public debt."
(iii) If the estimated fiscal impact of the proposed law is highly variable or is otherwise difficult to reasonably express in a summary statement, the local budget officer may include in the summary statement a brief explanation that identifies those factors affecting the variability or difficulty of the estimate.
(iv) If the proposed law would increase taxes, the local budget officer shall include a summary statement in the initial fiscal impact and legal statement in substantially the following form:
"This initiative seeks to increase the current (insert name of tax) rate by (insert the tax percentage difference) percent, resulting in a(n) (insert the tax percentage increase) percent increase in the current tax rate."
(3) The budget officer shall prepare an unbiased, good faith estimate of the cost of printing and distributing information related to the initiative petition in the voter information pamphlet as required by Section 20A-7-402.
(4) Within 20 calendar days after the day on which the local clerk submits a copy of the proposed law under Subsection (1), the budget officer shall:
(a) deliver a copy of the initial fiscal impact and legal statement to the local clerk's office; and
(b) mail a copy of the initial fiscal impact and legal statement to the first three sponsors named in the initiative application.
Amended by Chapter 107, 2023 General Session