LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

[Second Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 3823

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: JUNE 21, 2022

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Requires enhanced review of death records two months prior to election; permits remote training for certain election workers; exempts election worker compensation from taxation and remuneration.

Type of Impact:

Annual State revenue decrease; annual local expenditure increases.

Agencies Affected:

Department of State, local governments.

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

Year 1 

Year 2 

Year 3 

 

State Revenue Decrease

 

Indeterminate

 

 

Local Cost Increase

 

Indeterminate

 

 

 

 

 

·         The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) estimates that the bill will result in indeterminate annual State revenue losses from the exemption of poll worker compensation from the State’s gross income tax.  The revenue loss is estimated to be less than $1 million per election and will vary annually depending on the number of hours poll workers actually work on election days, and the number and type of elections in a given year (i.e. primary, general, or special election). 

·         Local governments will have their administrative workloads increased due to the bill’s requirements that death records and voter rolls be updated more frequently in the two months prior to a general or primary election.

 

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      This bill revises voter roll and election worker training processes and exempts election worker compensation from State gross income taxation and remuneration, for workers’ compensation purposes.

      The bill requires that for the two months immediately preceding a primary or general election, the officer in charge of records of death would file bi-weekly reports to the commissioner of registration.  The commissioner of registration would then have 10 days to investigate the list and remove any deceased voter from the voter rolls.

      This bill also clarifies that instructional sessions for election workers are to be conducted in person.  A county board of elections may also conduct instructional sessions remotely, by electronic means, to any district board member who has completed the instructional session in person within the last four years.  The county boards of elections would implement the procedures for conducting a remote session, which would need to be approved by the Secretary of State.  The procedures would need to be reviewed and approved once every two years.

      This bill also exempts election worker compensation, earned either during the early voting period or on election day, from gross income taxation and remuneration, for workers’ compensation purposes.

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS estimates that the bill will result in indeterminate annual State revenue losses from the exemption of poll worker compensation from the State’s gross income tax. 

      The State revenue loss resulting from the bill is estimated to be less than $1 million per election and will vary annually depending on the number of hours poll workers actually work on election days, and the number and type of elections in a given year (i.e. primary, general, or special election).  P.L.2022, c.5 increases the compensation of election workers from $200 per day to $300 per day, and the OLS estimates that the costs for early voting and election day poll workers per election is $25 million when taking this increase into account. Assuming marginal State income tax rates of 1.4 percent to 3.5 percent yields a revenue loss between $350,000 and $875,000 per election.

      Local governments will have their administrative workloads increased due to the bill’s requirements that death records and voter rolls be updated more frequently in the two months prior to a general or primary election.  Moreover, the OLS notes that if county boards of elections choose to offer instructional sessions to certain election workers remotely, the counties will be required to pay the cost of conducting the remote meetings.  There is no information available to indicate if county boards of elections will choose to conduct instructional sessions remotely to arrive at a cost estimate.

 

 

Section:

State Government

Analyst:

Nicolas Soto

Associate Research Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

 

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).