FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 15, 2019
Time Requested: 02:40 PM |
| Agency: |
Veterans Assistance, WV Department of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 2059 |
Introduced |
HB2427 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Military and Veterans |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
0456 Veterans Assistance
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Creates New Expense
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
The implementation of House Bill 2427 would create a substantial amount of cost for the State. Approximately 10% of WV’s population is a veteran. In 2016, the latest year found for complete data, the U.S. Veteran’s Administration estimated 147,869 veterans lived in WV, approximately half of those veterans are over age 65. It is estimated that 69,371 veterans over the age of 65 served during a wartime period. After eliminating veterans that receive a pension or disability compensation, the number of eligible veterans as described in the bill is 37,305. Paying each eligible veteran $150 a month, $1,800 a year, would cost the state $67,149,304 in benefit payments each year.
The second part of the bill calls for lump sum, back payments to eligible veterans over the age of 66. The cost of those lump sum payments is $677,083,392.
Additional costs would be incurred for staff to facilitate the benefit payments and costs for office expenses and printing.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2019
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2020
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
677,233,034 |
67,298,947 |
0 |
| Personal Services |
139,643 |
139,643 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
10,000 |
10,000 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
677,083,392 |
67,149,304 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
The "Other" cost noted above for FY19 consists of $677,083,392 for the lump sum payment. Personal Services of $139,643 is for three additional staff to facilitate the program. Current expenses of $10,000 includes office supplies and printing.
The costs listed for FY20 will be the annual cost going forward. The monthly payments of $150 per month for eligible veterans is $67,298,947. Personal services and current expenses will continue annually as well and of course will increase with inflation and pay raises.
The cost of implementation has not been provided as the bill does not state an end date for the program. The costs shown for FY20 will continue for the length of the program.
Memorandum
Data used for the creation of this fiscal note was gathered from multiple sources including the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Veteran's Administration. Data was not available that showed exact numbers that met the criteria of the bill. For instance, data is available that shows the number of wartime veterans and data is available to show the number of veterans per age group, but no data was found that showed the two together. Assumptions were used to create the specific data needed. For example, it was assumed that all veterans having served in WWII and Korea are over the age of 65. The percentage of veterans over the age of 65 was decreased based on the year in which each war ended.
Also, data was given for age ranges, not specific ages. To calculate the lump sum payments, the number of ages was spread evenly over the age group. However, even if the lump sum is calculated using the assumption that everyone in that age range is the youngest in the range, the lump sum cost would be $542,772,000, still a monumental cost.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Michelle Painter
Email Address: michelle.t.painter@wv.gov