Page 1
February 10, 2022 HB 22-1085
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 22-0555
Rep. Hanks
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
February 10, 2022
House SCMVA
Annie Scott | 303-866-5851
Annie.Scott@state.co.us
Bill Topic: PAPER BALLOT FRAUD COUNTERMEASURES
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☒ Local Government
☐ Statutory Public Entity
The bill requires that elections use paper ballots provided by accredited vendors that
include specific ballot fraud countermeasures. The bill also requires General Fund
appropriations to the Department of State (DOS) to pay county clerk and recorders for
costs related to the bill. The bill increases state and local workload and expenditures
on an ongoing basis.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2022-23, the bill requires appropriations totaling $5.7 million to the Department
of State.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 22-1085
Budget Year
FY 2022-23
Out Year
FY 2023-24
Revenue - -
Expenditures General Fund $5,496,652 $4,270,000
Cash Funds $189,664 $171,064
Centrally Appropriated $46,011 $46,011
Total Expenditures $5,732,327 $4,487,075
Total FTE 3.1 FTE 3.1 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts General Fund Reserve $824,498 $640,500
Page 2
February 10, 2022 HB 22-1085
Summary of Legislation
The bill requires that any primary, general, coordinated statewide, or statewide recall election use
paper ballots that include specific ballot fraud countermeasures. The bill lists required security
specifications for all election paper ballots, which includes various technical specifications similar to
those for bank notes such as optically variable ink, holographic images, embedded/stealth numbering,
among others.
Ballots must be provided by vendors with specific accreditations from the Joint Technical Committee
of the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical
Commission. The bill requires that the General Assembly appropriate General Funds to the
Department of State to pay county clerk and recorders for costs related to replacing current paper
ballots and vendor contracts.
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures in Department of State (DOS) by $5.7 million in FY 2022-23 and
$4.5 million in FY 2023-24. Costs for county reimbursements are paid from the General Fund, and
staffing-related costs for the DOS are from the Department of State Cash Fund. Expenditures are
shown in Table 2 and detailed below.
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 22-1085
Cost Components FY 2022-23 FY 2023-24
Department of State
Personal Services $166,879 $166,879
Operating Expenses $4,185 $4,185
Capital Outlay Costs $18,600 -
County clerk reimbursement (ballots) $4,270,000 $4,270,000
County clerk reimbursement (equipment) $1,226,652 -
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$46,011 $46,011
FTE – Personal Services 3.1 FTE 3.1 FTE
Total $5,732,327 $4,487,075
Total FTE 3.1 FTE 3.1 FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation.
Page 3
February 10, 2022 HB 22-1085
County clerk payments. The bill requires new paper ballots in all statewide elections, which increases
costs for county clerks for ballots, vendor contracts, upgraded equipment, software, testing, and
licensing fees. The General Assembly is required to appropriate General Funds to cover these costs
under the bill, which are estimated to be $5.5 million in FY 2022-23, as described below. Actual costs
incurred by county clerks may differ from this estimate and the reimbursement amount may need to
be adjusted through the annual budget process.
Ballots. Current ballots cost roughly $1.10 each and there are approximately 4.27 million registered
voters in Colorado, all of whom receive a ballot in the mail. The actual cost to replace current
ballots with new ballots meeting the standard of the bill is unknown. At a minimum, it is assumed
that costs for paper ballots will increase by $1 each, resulting in increased costs of $4,270,000. It is
assumed these costs will occur each year.
Equipment. Counties use ballot printers at voter service centers to provide ballots-on-demand to
voters who need a replacement ballot or request one to vote in person. These would likely need
to be upgraded to meet the requirements of the bill. One currently available ballot printer costs
$714. If the 1,718 printers statewide need to be replaced, increases costs by a total of $1,226,652,
assuming the new printers cost a similar amount. Costs could be higher to the extent printers are
more expensive than this estimate or other equipment must be replaced.
Staffing and administration. The DOS will require additional staff, including two Elections Specialist
II to develop and implement a certification program ensuring the print vendors obtain and maintain
required accreditations and certifications, and that the processes result in printed paper ballots that
incorporate the necessary security features; and one Elections Specialist III to oversee the new
program, manage staff, and work with counties and the Finance Unit in the Administration Division
to reimburse county clerks. Staff will also be required to review county documentation for receiving
payments, including checking compliance, performing follow-up, and approving the payments in the
state financial system. It is estimated that this work will take approximately 4 hours per county for a
total of 256 hours, or about 0.1 FTE.
Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs associated
with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally appropriated in the Long
Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These costs, which include employee
insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are shown in Table 2.
Other Budget Impacts
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve beginning in FY 2022-23. Based
on this fiscal note, the bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the
amounts shown in Table 1, which will decrease the amount of General Fund available for other
purposes.
Page 4
February 10, 2022 HB 22-1085
Local Government
The bill will increase costs for counties to obtain new paper ballots and equipment, and these costs
will be reimbursed by the state (see State Expenditures section above). It is assumed that
reimbursement from the DOS will cover direct costs only and that overhead or other associated
administrative costs will be borne by the counties.
Other potential costs. There is uncertainty that current tabulation equipment will be usable with the
new ballot paper, and counties may not be able to use their current equipment for the November 2022
election. In that event, counties will be required to hand count their ballots. Mesa County recently
hand counted 52,472 ballots with a cost of about $71,500, or $1.36 per voter. Mesa County was able to
sort by style and verify number of ballots cast and vote results as they went, reducing overall costs;
not all counties will have this capability. The cost to hand count the ballots for the 3 million ballots
expected to be cast statewide in the November 2022 election is estimated to be $4.1 million across all
counties. It is assumed that this cost would not be reimbursed by the state, if incurred.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his signature.
State Appropriations
For FY 2022-23, the bill requires the following appropriations
$189,664 from the Department of State Cash Fund to the Department of State, and 3.1 FTE; and
$5,496,652 from the General Fund to the Department of State for county reimbursement.
State and Local Government Contact
County Clerks Information Technology Law
Local Affairs Municipalities Personnel
Secretary of State
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit: leg.colorado.gov/fiscalnotes.