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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Campos, J

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/18/08

HB 113

SHORT TITLE Election Recount Procedures

SB

ANALYST Ortiz

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$500.0

Recurring

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

REVENUE (dollars in thousands)

Estimated Revenue

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

FY10

$500.0

Recurring Automatic

Recount Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Association of County Clerks (ACC)

Attorney General’s Office (AGO)

Responses Received From

Secretary of State (SOS)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 113 appropriates $500 thousand from the general fund to the automatic recount fund,

which is a new fund, for the purpose of reimbursing counties for expenses incurred in conducting

automatic recounts with money from the “Automatic Recount Fund." The Automatic Recount

Fund shall consist of money distributed or transferred or otherwise accruing to the fund.

Balances over $1,500,000 at the end of the FY shall revert to the general fund.

House Bill 113 – Page

2

An automatic recount will occur if the top two finishers in federal or state offices in a general

election are separated by less than one-half of one percent of the total votes cast for that office.

If this occurs the Secretary of State, within five days of completing the state canvass, shall notify

the State Canvassing Board that an automatic recount is required. It defines state office as:

Governor, Lt. Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Attorney General, Secretary of State,

Supreme Court Justice, Court of Appeals Judge, District Judge, Magistrate Judge, PRC

Commissioner, Commissioner of Public Lands, State Senator, and State Representative.

The appropriate canvassing board shall issue an order to the appropriate county clerk to convene

the absent voter precinct board within no more than 10 days. The county clerk shall send notice

by registered mail of the date of the recount or recheck to the district judge for the county, the

absent voter precinct board members and the county chair of the political parties. The county

clerk, district judge and absent voter precinct board shall meet and conduct the recount or

recheck in the presence of the county clerk, district judge and any other person who may desire

to be present. The absent voter precinct board shall certify the results of the recount or recheck

to the Secretary of State. The term “absent voter" is added to modify the term “precinct boards"

in Section 1-14-18.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $500 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not

revert to the general fund.

Continuing Appropriations language

This bill creates a new fund and provides for continuing appropriations. The LFC has concerns

with including continuing appropriation language in the statutory provisions for newly created

funds, as earmarking reduces the ability of the legislature to establish spending priorities.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The AGO notes that the bill would create an initial appropriation of $500,000.00 for FY09 yet

several factors are unknown including cost of a recount; the number of recounts required in any

given period of time, and the bill does not provide language to address what would happen if

there were multiple recounts in an election cycle and the available funds were depleted.

The bill repeals two key items in the existing law. First, the appropriate canvassing board would

issue orders for recounts. Currently, the process is to issue a summons, which requires hiring a

sheriff. The bill might reduce costs because sheriffs would not need to be hired to serve the

summons. Second, this order instructs only the absent voter precinct board, as opposed to the

current process of all precinct workers, to handle the recount.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The AGO points out that the bill defines magistrate judge as a state officer even though it has

House Bill 113 – Page

3

traditionally been viewed a county or local political subdivision officer.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The Association of County Clerks notes that since the bill requires notification by registered

letter, the board may not be fully available and the bill does not address the procedure if the

absent voter precinct board is not available in its entirety. It also expresses concern that the bill

opens recounts to anyone interested in attending but locations may not be able to accommodate

large audiences.

The AGO adds that it is unclear whether the absent voter precinct board alone has enough staff

to handle a recount.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Why should the fund be limited to a maximum of $1.5 million. Is there data from other states

with automatic recounts to support the funding provided in this bill.

EO/nt