FISCAL NOTE

House Bill 471 as amended and reported by the Committee on Ways and Means General Fund would increase the obligations of the Agriculture Fund by $22,805.36 per year by increasing the annual salary of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries from $87,194.64, currently, to $110,000, effective January 2023. This bill also provides that the commissioner shall be entitled to any cost-of-living pay increases and other benefits granted to state employees, and any cost-of-living granted would be treated as an expense allowance during the incumbent's term and subsequently incorporated into the salary of the commissioner upon the next term of office.