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Committee hears bill to add highway-fund disclosure to fiscal summaries and extend timelines for local fiscal notes
Summary
Assembly Bill 249 would require bill summaries to state whether measures could affect the state's Highway Fund, change the "effect on the state" language, and allow the Legislative Council Bureau to extend local governments' time to return fiscal notes. Local governments and construction industry groups testified in support.
Assemblymember Danielle Monroe Moreno, chair of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, presented Assembly Bill 249 to the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections as a cleanup measure aimed at improving fiscal transparency.
AB 249 would require the summary of all bills and joint resolutions to include statements about a measure’s fiscal effect on the State Highway Fund. It also revises the default summary language about a bill's fiscal effect on the state from "effect on the state: yes" to "effect on the state: may have a fiscal impact." The bill revises posting deadlines for fiscal notes for initiative and referendum petitions on the Secretary of State’s website and authorizes the Fiscal Analysis Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau to extend the period local governments have to return fiscal notes when additional research is necessary.
Supporters told the committee the changes would provide greater transparency about Highway Fund impacts and allow local governments time to produce more accurate estimates. Alexis Motarex of the Nevada Chapter of the Associated General Contractors said including Highway Fund impacts would increase transparency; she noted that in 2023 transfers from the Highway Fund to other agencies amounted to "over $44,000,000." Cadence Matejevich of Washoe County said Washoe had received 227 fiscal note requests so far in the session and said extensions help local governments consult actuaries or third-party administrators to sharpen estimates. Jennifer Berthiaume of the Nevada Association of Counties and Nick Ciccone of the City of Reno echoed those remarks.
Fiscal analyst Michael Nakamoto told the committee extending the period for local governments "is basically allowing us additional time to do the research" and said he did not expect the change to impede initiative petitioners' ability to place measures on the ballot.
No formal vote was taken at the hearing. The bill drew support from local governments and industry groups; no opposition callers were recorded during the hearing.
Ending: If the committee advances AB 249, the bill's fiscal-note language will affect how upcoming measures disclose Highway Fund impacts and how the Legislative Counsel Bureau handles extensions for local fiscal analyses.
