Committee approves amendment requiring documentation for development fees above $250

Deputy Speaker Zachary (identified in committee as sponsor for House Bill 375) presented an amendment (3651) clarifying that once a local department, agency or official assesses and collects a development-related fee in excess of $250, the locality must maintain documentation describing the justification and cost basis of the fee and make that information available upon request. The amendment also subjects the documentation to annual audit by the comptroller.

The sponsor explained that “transparency” is the bill’s legislative intent and read the bill’s three sections into the record: documentation of cost basis, retention and disclosure upon request, and annual audit by the comptroller. The sponsor defined “cost basis” as the governmental rationale for charging the fee — whether the fee offsets a specific government cost.

The adoption of amendment 3651 was unopposed. The committee then voted on HB 375 as amended; the clerk reported 7 ayes and 0 noes and the bill moves to the next available calendar of state and local government.

The bill’s language, as explained in committee, requires records retention and audit review but does not, in committee, mandate fee adjustments or new local duties beyond maintaining and producing documentation when requested.