OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS

Legislative Office Building, Room 5200

Hartford, CT 06106 ¯ (860) 240-0200

http: //www.cga.ct.gov/ofa

HB-6715

AN ACT CONCERNING THE PALLIATIVE USE OF MARIJUANA.

AMENDMENT

LCO No.: 6710

File Copy No.: 420

House Calendar No.: 348

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The Department of Public Health (DPH) will incur a potential cost to develop a reporting form, process physician filings regarding the nature of qualifying patient's debilitating medical conditions and respond to inquiries from law enforcement agencies seeking to confirm a physician's filing of the mandated information.

The exact cost would depend upon the volume of notifications submitted to the department, which cannot be determined at this time. However, if the number proves significant in magnitude the agency may require up to one additional half-time clerical staff, at an annualized cost of approximately $44, 450 (including fringe benefits costs.)

Section 4(b) of the original bill allows the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) to establish a fee to cover administrative costs associated with Sections 1 through 9 of the bill. Collections are to be deposited into the Palliative Marijuana Administration Account (PMAA) , with expenditures from the Account subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Therefore, costs incurred by the DPH in response to passage of the amendment could result in an offsetting revenue gain to the state if they are included in DCP's calculation of the fee assessed on qualifying patients, as well as additional funding for the DPH if the General Assembly approves appropriations from the PMAA for this purpose.

The preceding Fiscal Impact statement is prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for the purposes of information, summarization and explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.