A fiscal note can kill your bill.

The note estimates the cost of implementing your legislation.

It’s prepared by our non-partisan staff, with input from the affected executive branch agency and other interested parties.

If the cost is high, you can turn out the lights on your bill; the party’s over.

That was not the case with House Bill 14, my first bill to get a public hearing.
HB 14 would increase the fee for the special admission of an out-of-state attorney to handle a case in Maryland. The additional revenue (an estimated $72,200) would be used for the repayment of academic loans of law school graduates entering public service under an existing program.

Preparing for my testimony, I read the fiscal note.

Only 21 lawyers applied for this assistance in Fiscal Year 2016. There were 349 applicants from other professions.

I’m taking steps to make law students more aware of this opportunity.