FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 30, 2023
Time Requested: 12:43 PM |
| Agency: |
Auditor, State of WV |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2804 |
Introduced |
HB3135 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Salaries |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
State Funds
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The purpose of proposed House Bill 3135 is to increase the annual compensation for the Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Agriculture, and State Treasurer.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2023
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2024
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
0 |
336,535 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
336,535 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
The basic tenet of the proposed legislation is to tie the annual compensation paid to all of the State’s Constitutional Officers to a set percentage of the annual salary of members of the United States Congress. As of January 31, 2023, the annual salary of a member of the United States Congress is $174,000 per year. The proposed Bill calls for implementation of its provisions January 1, 2025. Therefore, in order to develop the implementation costs for the proposed Bill, we have assumed the salary of members of Congress will remain at the current annual amount of $174,000 through January 1, 2025. Our examination of the proposed legislation indicates the total amount of increases in the annual compensation paid to the six named constitutional officers set out in the Bill would total $288,500 each fiscal year upon full implementation of the Bill. Further, based on the current assessment rates for required Social Security and Medicare matching payments for employers, we have calculated those costs to increase by a total of approximately $22,070 each fiscal year upon full implementation of the Bill. Lastly, since the constitutional officers covered by the proposed legislation are all members of the Public Employees’ Retirement System, the $288,500 in additional salary expenses will be required to be funded with an employer-match funded from the State General Revenue Fund. We have utilized the current rate of 9% which would result in an increase in employer retirement matching payments of $25,965 each fiscal year upon full implementation of the Bill. Therefore, we estimate the total costs of the proposed legislation upon full implementation would be approximately $336,535.
Memorandum
It should be noted the provisions of the proposed legislation would not take effect until January 1, 2025, effectively the second half of the 2025 Fiscal Year commencing on July 1, 2024. Accordingly, the total expenditures required during the initial year of implementation of the proposed Bill (Fiscal Year 2025) would consist of $144,250 for salaries, $11,035 for Social Security and Medicare matching expenditures and $12,983 for Retirement matching expenditures for a total of approximately $168,268.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Michael E. Sizemore, CPA
Email Address: Mike.Sizemore@wvsao.gov