§ 150B-21.4. Fiscal notes on rules. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 150B‑21.4.  Fiscalnotes on rules.

(a)        State Funds. – Beforean agency publishes in the North Carolina Register the proposed text of apermanent rule change that would require the expenditure or distribution offunds subject to the State Budget Act, Chapter 143C of the General Statutes itmust submit the text of the proposed rule change and a fiscal note on theproposed rule change to the Director of the Budget and obtain certificationfrom the Director that the funds that would be required by the proposed rulechange are available. The fiscal note must state the amount of funds that wouldbe expended or distributed as a result of the proposed rule change and explainhow the amount was computed. The Director of the Budget must certify a proposedrule change if funds are available to cover the expenditure or distributionrequired by the proposed rule change.

(a1)      DOT Analyses. – Inaddition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, any agency thatadopts a rule affecting environmental permitting of Department ofTransportation projects shall conduct an analysis to determine if the rule willresult in an increased cost to the Department of Transportation. The analysisshall be conducted and submitted to the Board of Transportation before the agencypublishes the proposed text of the rule change in the North Carolina Register.The agency shall consider any recommendations offered by the Board ofTransportation prior to adopting the rule. Once a rule subject to thissubsection is adopted, the Board of Transportation may submit any objection tothe rule it may have to the Rules Review Commission. If the Rules ReviewCommission receives an objection to a rule from the Board of Transportation nolater than 5:00 P.M. of the day following the day the Commission approves therule, then the rule shall only become effective as provided in G.S. 150B‑21.3(b1).

(b)        Local Funds. – Beforean agency publishes in the North Carolina Register the proposed text of apermanent rule change that would affect the expenditures or revenues of a unitof local government, it must submit the text of the proposed rule change and afiscal note on the proposed rule change to the Office of the Governor asprovided by G.S. 150B‑21.26, the Fiscal Research Division of the GeneralAssembly, the Office of State Budget and Management, the North CarolinaAssociation of County Commissioners, and the North Carolina League ofMunicipalities. The fiscal note must state the amount by which the proposedrule change would increase or decrease expenditures or revenues of a unit oflocal government and must explain how the amount was computed.

(b1)      Substantial EconomicImpact. – Before an agency publishes in the North Carolina Register theproposed text of a permanent rule change that would have a substantial economicimpact and that is not identical to a federal regulation that the agency isrequired to adopt, the agency must obtain a fiscal note for the proposed rulechange from the Office of State Budget and Management or prepare a fiscal notefor the proposed rule change and have the note approved by that Office. If anagency requests the Office of State Budget and Management to prepare a fiscalnote for a proposed rule change, that Office must prepare the note within 90days after receiving a written request for the note. If the Office of StateBudget and Management fails to prepare a fiscal note within this time period,the agency proposing the rule change may prepare a fiscal note. A fiscal noteprepared in this circumstance does not require approval of the Office of StateBudget and Management.

If an agency prepares therequired fiscal note, the agency must submit the note to the Office of StateBudget and Management for review. The Office of State Budget and Managementmust review the fiscal note within 14 days after it is submitted and eitherapprove the note or inform the agency in writing of the reasons why it does notapprove the fiscal note. After addressing these reasons, the agency may submitthe revised fiscal note to that Office for its review. If an agency is not surewhether a proposed rule change would have a substantial economic impact, theagency may ask the Office of State Budget and Management to determine whetherthe proposed rule change has a substantial economic impact.

As used in this subsection,the term "substantial economic impact" means an aggregate financialimpact on all persons affected of at least three million dollars ($3,000,000)in a 12‑month period.

(b2)      Content. – A fiscalnote required by subsection (b1) of this section must contain the following:

(1)        A description of thepersons who would be affected by the proposed rule change.

(2)        A description of thetypes of expenditures that persons affected by the proposed rule change wouldhave to make to comply with the rule and an estimate of these expenditures.

(3)        A description of thepurpose and benefits of the proposed rule change.

(4)        An explanation ofhow the estimate of expenditures was computed.

(c)        Errors. – Anerroneous fiscal note prepared in good faith does not affect the validity of arule. (1973, c.1331, s. 1; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1137, s. 41.1; 1983, c. 761, s. 185; 1985, c.746, s. 1; 1987, c. 827, s. 54; 1991, c. 418, s. 1; 1995, c. 415, s. 2; c. 507,s. 27.8(b); 2000‑140, s. 93.1(a); 2001‑424, s. 12.2(b); 2003‑229,s. 6; 2005‑276, s. 28.8(a); 2006‑203, s. 124.)