Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1863 by Hughes (Relating to the conduct of randomized county election audits.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB1863, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($4,247,844) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2026
($2,191,795)
2027
($2,056,049)
2028
($2,056,049)
2029
($2,056,049)
2030
($2,056,049)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2025
2026
($2,191,795)
17.0
2027
($2,056,049)
17.0
2028
($2,056,049)
17.0
2029
($2,056,049)
17.0
2030
($2,056,049)
17.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Election Code related to the conduct of randomized county election audits. It would increase the number of counties audited by the Secretary of State (SOS) for compliance with state election law from four counties selected in November of an even numbered year to 16 counties every year. The bill would increase the scope of audits to include all political subdivisions of each county. Each political subdivision would be required to register with the SOS. The bill defines certain requirements of these audits and provides statutory justification to the SOS to decline to reimburse counties or political subdivisions in certain instances related to the auditing process.
Methodology
According to the SOS, the randomized election audit program is currently assigned 18.0 FTEs. The agency anticipates that expanding the number of audits from four every two years to 32 every two years would require an additional 17 FTEs to staff the expanded program (14 Auditor IV positions at $85,869 per year, 2 Attorney IV positions at $124,606 per year, and one Director II at $113,278 per year). Associated benefits and other expenses for these new positions would be $491,393 per year with an additional $135,746 in setup costs in fiscal year 2026.
Local Government Impact
The fiscal implications of the bill on political subdivisions cannot be determined at this time but could be significant.