The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed legislation Tuesday requiring the Office of Legislative Oversight to prepare an economic impact statement on each bill, starting in March 2020.
The legislation will require that all legislation receives an economic impact statement indicating the potential costs a bill could have on businesses and residents.
The economic impact statement will address effects on the county’s workforce, tax policy, property values, income and operating costs to businesses and nonprofits.
The new measure takes effect March 1, 2020,
Council member Andrew Friedson, who sponsored the bill, said it is the product of an idea that he mentioned during his council campaign last year and that much of the business community favored.
The council passed an economic impact statement requirement in 2010, which gave the responsibility to the finance director. But the analysis was “not always as helpful as the council had hoped” according to the current bill.
Additionally, the requirement could not be enforced because the finance director’s failure to submit a statement would not “invalidate” an otherwise valid law. Friedson said his legislation “gives more teeth” to the economic impact statement requirement by invalidating a bill that does not include this analysis.
OLO will create a new position for an economist, who will be tasked with conducting the economic impact analyses. It was unclear Wednesday morning what the cost would be for the new position.
“There’s going to be a professional economist to oversee these, and it makes it mandatory. It basically strengthens economic impact statements. It ensures that we actually do them. It specifies what the expectation is and it moves the responsibility to the Office of Legislative Oversight,” Friedson said in an interview Tuesday.
Friedson said there are similarities between the county’s future economic impact statement requirement and the “fiscal note” attached to each bill filed in the state legislature. However, the state’s fiscal requirement addresses both the cost to state and local government, as well as the business community, while the council’s bill only addresses the impact on the local economy.
Following the passage of the bill Tuesday, the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce released a statement of support, calling it useful for the council to have more information on how bills could affect the business community.
“It is imperative that the County Council recognize the impact of their policy decisions’ on our ability to compete with neighboring jurisdictions in a highly competitive regional and global economy,” chamber President and CEO Gigi Godwin wrote.
“We have been fighting for this legislation for nearly a decade and we’re proud to see it cross the finish line this year with the support of the entire County Council.”
Friedson said there will be exceptions to the economic impact statement requirement for emergency legislation, such as special budget appropriations.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
