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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 1, 2018 11:25 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative David H. Zimmerman and Rep. Brett R. Miller |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Fees, fines, and penalties to the General Fund |
| In the near future, we plan to re-introduce a revised version of House Bill 1743 which was introduced previously this session. After further review of the bill, we identified several portions of the bill which needed to be modified and strengthened. The new language of this bill, while substantially similar, strengthens the intent and mechanisms of the bill. The revised bill still focuses on the fact that many executive branch agencies, departments, and boards assess a multitude of fees, fines, and penalties in enforcing acts for which they have oversight. The money obtained from these fees is often deposited in specific accounts designated for funding each department’s activities. This system incentivizes agencies to assess as many of these fees, fines and penalties as possible, regardless of whether these charges are actually necessary or fair. In fact, these financial charges often make up a significant portion of the assessing department’s budget. Our legislation would amend the Fiscal Code to require that all fees, fines, and penalties imposed by various regulated state agencies, departments, and boards be deposited in the General Fund. This will remove these agencies, departments, and boards’ incentive to impose excessive and unnecessary fees, fines and penalties on constituents and businesses throughout the state. This change, in turn, will restore the responsibility for funding these state agencies with the General Assembly as part of the legislative budgetary process. Please join us in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation to reduce the financial burden of excessive fees, fines, and penalties on our citizens and businesses and hold agencies and departments accountable by eliminating their incentive to increase fees, fines, and penalties. Members who signed on the previous version of this bill (HB 1743): Zimmerman, B. Miller, Rader, Greiner, Diamond, Pickett, Bloom, Cutler, Godshall, Ward, Causer, Keefer, Barrar, Heffley, A. Harris, Grove, Ortitay, Wheeland, Dush, Ryan, Maloney, Knowles, Phillips-Hill, Schemel, Cook, Moul, Milne, Irvin, Walsh, Fee, Roae, Klunk, and Mentzer. |
Introduced as HB2451