establishing a regulatory analysis fund to evaluate the economic impact of proposed rules and making an appropriation therefor.
Summary
HB 1311 establishes a new nonlapsing Regulatory Analysis Fund in the state treasury to support review of the economic impact of proposed administrative rules. The fund is intended to help the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules and the General Court assess how proposed rules may affect the state economy, and it authorizes the committee, by majority vote, to hire an outside economic analyst if funds are available.
The bill also makes a nominal $1 general fund appropriation for fiscal year 2026 to seed the fund and directs that any future legislative appropriations, fiscal committee transfers, and earned interest be deposited into it. It amends the state receipts statute to recognize the new fund as a designated repository for those monies and takes effect 60 days after passage.
Impact
The bill would add RSA 541-A:42, creating a dedicated fund and a new statutory mechanism for economic review of proposed administrative rules. It would not directly change substantive regulatory standards, but it would expand legislative oversight capacity by allowing the committee to obtain outside economic analysis before rules are finalized. The fiscal note indicates no revenue impact and only a $1 appropriation in FY 2026, with any later expenditures described as indeterminable and dependent on future use of the fund.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded vote, or other public debate in the provided materials, so there is no documented opposition or support beyond the bill’s introduction. Based on the text, the bill appears framed as a technical oversight and fiscal-analysis measure rather than a policy change, which may make it relatively noncontroversial on its face. The fiscal note’s minimal initial appropriation also suggests the sponsor is presenting it as a low-cost administrative tool.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is whether the legislature should create and fund a separate mechanism for outside economic review of administrative rules, since that could be viewed either as a useful check on agency rulemaking or as an added layer of delay and expense. Another possible issue is the open-ended nature of future costs: while the initial appropriation is only $1, the bill authorizes hiring external analysts subject to available funds, leaving later expenditures uncertain. No specific opposing or supporting stakeholders are identified in the provided record.
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