| TO: | Honorable Bill Ratliff, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB321 by Armbrister (Relating to the compensation of an election judge or clerk in a general election.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Election Code to raise the minimum compensation for election judges and clerks from $6 to $8 per hour for a general election. The bill would take effect September 1, 2003 and would apply to compensation for an election judge or clerk for services rendered on or after that date.
A general election is any regularly reoccurring election in a political subdivision. Election costs vary among political subdivisions and from year to year. According to the Secretary of State's Office, the average number of election workers per precinct is four, the average number of hours worked per worker per election is 14, and the average election wage across the state is currently $6 per hour.
There are 8,473 county voting precincts in the state. All election costs are born by the political subdivision holding the election, except for the primaries, which are conducted at the expense of the Secretary of State's Office.
Using the above averages, with the proposed $2 per hour increase to the minimum compensation rate, the estimated total cost increase to local governments statewide would be $948,976 per countywide election, which is an additional cost of $112 per precinct, on average. The cost increase would vary by local government entity depending upon the number of precincts and the amount of increase, if any, that the new $8 per hour rate would represent.
A general election is any regularly reoccurring election in a political subdivision. Election costs vary among political subdivisions and from year to year. According to the Secretary of State's Office, the average number of election workers per precinct is four, the average number of hours worked per worker per election is 14, and the average election wage across the state is currently $6 per hour.
There are 8,473 county voting precincts in the state. All election costs are born by the political subdivision holding the election, except for the primaries, which are conducted at the expense of the Secretary of State's Office.
Using the above averages, with the proposed $2 per hour increase to the minimum compensation rate, the estimated total cost increase to local governments statewide would be $948,976 per countywide election, which is an additional cost of $112 per precinct, on average. The cost increase would vary by local government entity depending upon the number of precincts and the amount of increase, if any, that the new $8 per hour rate would represent.
| Source Agencies: | 304 Comptroller Of Public Accounts, 307 Secretary Of State
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| LBB Staff: | JK, RR, JB, DLBa
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