Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 1178
       
       
       
       By Senator Haridopolos
       
       
       
       
       26-00080A-10                                          20101178__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to cost and benefit analysis of
    3         legislation; creating s. 216.138, F.S.; authorizing
    4         the President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of
    5         Representatives to request special impact sessions of
    6         the Revenue Estimating Conference to consider the
    7         costs and benefits of proposed legislation;
    8         establishing timeframes; requiring the Office of
    9         Economic and Demographic Research and other principals
   10         to develop protocols and procedures; establishing
   11         minimum requirements; requiring submission of a
   12         report; requiring utilization of protocols and
   13         procedures until the approval is affirmatively
   14         revoked; providing an effective date.
   15  
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 216.138, Florida Statutes, is created to
   19  read:
   20         216.138 Cost and benefit analysis of legislation.—The
   21  President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of
   22  Representatives may request special impact sessions of the
   23  Revenue Estimating Conference to consider both the costs and
   24  benefits of proposed legislation. The request must be made at
   25  least 90 days before the beginning of the subsequent legislative
   26  session, and the information developed by the Revenue Estimating
   27  Conference shall be completed no later than the start of the
   28  legislative session for which it is requested. The information
   29  used to develop the analyses shall be available to the public.
   30         Section 2. The Office of Economic and Demographic Research,
   31  acting in consultation with the principals of the Revenue
   32  Estimating Conference, and after receiving public input, shall
   33  by October 1, 2010, develop protocols and procedures for the
   34  consistent estimation of costs and benefits of specific proposed
   35  legislation. At a minimum, the protocols and procedures must
   36  address appropriate economic techniques used in the analysis of
   37  proposed legislation, the format for reporting results, and
   38  proposed linkages to the appropriations and revenue forecasting
   39  processes, including any statutory changes that would be needed.
   40  The linkages must be consistent with the constitutional
   41  requirement to have a balanced budget. The office shall submit a
   42  report of its findings and recommendations to the President of
   43  the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives by
   44  October 1, 2010. Subject to approval by the President of the
   45  Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives following the
   46  submission of the report, the protocols and procedures shall be
   47  utilized for the analysis of specific proposed legislation by
   48  the Revenue Estimating Conference as provided in s. 216.138,
   49  Florida Statutes, unless and until such approval is subsequently
   50  affirmatively revoked.
   51         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.