What's happening
This bill establishes a non-partisan legislative budget office in New York to provide independent fiscal analysis and budget information to the legislature.
Why it matters
Increases Legislative Independence. By establishing a non-partisan budget office, the legislature gains its own source of fiscal analysis and budget forecasting, reducing reliance on the executive branch and potentially increasing the accuracy and objectivity of budget decisions.
Improves Transparency and Accountability. The office is required to provide public reports on anticipated revenues, economic forecasts, and alternative revenue options, making state budgeting more transparent and giving both legislators and the public clearer insight into state finances.
Enhances Legislative Decision-Making. Lawmakers can request independent fiscal impact statements and revenue estimates for proposed legislation and programs, allowing for more informed policymaking and enabling better scrutiny of the economic effects of new laws.
Promotes Non-Partisanship in Budgeting. The strict appointment process for the director (requiring broad consensus and a super-majority vote) and the mandate for political neutrality help ensure that budget analyses and advice are not influenced by party politics, potentially leading to fairer, evidence-based fiscal policy.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Create Budget Watchdog Office
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to ethics and internal governance
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to ethics and internal governance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Create Budget Watchdog Office
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Felix Ortiz
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3287
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 5, 2019
Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, HOYLMAN, LIU, MONTGOMERY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Ethics and Internal Governance
AN ACT to amend the legislative law, in relation to creation of the non-partisan legislative budget office
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The legislative law is amended by adding a new article 4-B to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4-B
NON-PARTISAN LEGISLATIVE BUDGET OFFICE Section 76. Non-partisan legislative budget office.
77. Powers and duties of the office; report.
§ 76. Non-partisan legislative budget office. 1. For purposes of this article:
a. "Office" means the non-partisan legislative budget office established in this article; and
b. "Director" means the director of the non-partisan legislative budget office.
c. "Super-majority vote" means a vote requiring two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the legislature.
2. There is hereby created a non-partisan legislative budget office. The head of such office shall be the director who shall be appointed by a joint resolution requiring a super-majority vote of both of the senate and assembly for a term of seven years. The temporary president of the senate and speaker of the assembly, in consultation with the senate minority leader and assembly minority leader shall reach a consensus on a candidate for the director position on which the senate and assembly shall vote. The director of the legislative budget office shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties assigned by this article.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05847-01-9
S. 3287 2
3. A deputy director shall be appointed by the director. Any individual appointed as director to fill a vacancy prior to the expiration of a term shall serve only for the unexpired portion of that term. Any individual serving as director at the expiration of the term may continue to serve until his or her successor is appointed. Any deputy director shall serve until the expiration of the term of office of the director who appointed him or her, and until his or her successor is appointed, unless sooner removed by the director.
4. The director shall hold no other public office while serving as the director. The director shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the legislature.
5. The director may be removed by either the assembly or the senate by resolution requiring a two-thirds vote of the members elected to either branch of the legislature.
§ 77. Powers and duties of the office; report. 1. a. The office shall:
(i) provide information to the legislative committees of the senate and assembly with respect to the state budget, appropriation and programmatic bills and other bills providing budget authority or tax expenditures;
(ii) examine and review all financial and programmatic information of the state for the purpose of rendering revenue estimates used in determining whether any proposed state budget is balanced;
(iii) be charged with the duty of rendering anticipated revenue forecast reports to the legislature and the governor for the purposes of facilitating passage of the state budget in a timely manner; and
(iv) provide assistance in determining the fiscal impact of proposed legislation at the request of a member of the senate and assembly.
b. The director shall develop, in consultation with the chairs and ranking members of the senate standing committee on finance and the assembly ways and means committee, a priority system for processing requests from legislators for fiscal impact statements for their legislation.
c. The director shall provide all members of the senate and assembly with a description of the priority system for processing requests from legislators for fiscal impact statements for their legislation.
2. At the request of any committee chair or ranking member of the senate or assembly, to the extent practicable, the legislative budget office shall provide to such committee any information which will assist in the discharge of matters within the jurisdiction of such committee.
3. The director may appoint budget analysts, assistants and such other employees as he or she may deem necessary or desirable, prescribe such employee's duties and fix such employee's compensation within the amounts appropriated and made available therefor.
4. a. The office shall submit a report to the temporary president of the senate, senate minority leader, the speaker of the assembly and assembly minority leader, which shall include:
(i) written estimates of anticipated state revenues for budgetary purposes;
(ii) projected economic factors and forecasts;
(iii) summarization of the budget proposed by the governor pursuant to article seven of the constitution; and
(iv) revenue sources that could be used as alternatives to revenue sources outlined in the executive budget.
b. Such report shall be submitted on the first of March each year for the next succeeding fiscal year. After submission to the temporary president of the senate, senate minority leader, the speaker of the assembly
S. 3287 3
and assembly minority leader, such report shall be made available to the public, upon request.
5. a. The legislative budget office shall be funded from legislative appropriations provided annually, with equal allocations provided by the senate and the assembly as each house deems appropriate.
b. The director may procure, within the amounts appropriated and made available therefor, up-to-date computer equipment, obtain the services of experts and consultants in computer technology.
§ 2. Section 30 of the legislative law, as amended by chapter 766 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
§ 30. Duties of finance and ways and means committees and secretaries and of the legislative budget office and its director. The committees and their secretaries and of the legislative budget office and its director shall have access at all reasonable times to offices of state departments, commissions, boards, bureaus and offices, to institutions and to all state authorities and public works of the state and they may, for the purpose of obtaining information as to the method of operation, general condition, management and needs thereof, examine the books, papers and public records therein. Notwithstanding any other provision of law such state departments, commissions, boards, bureaus, offices, state authorities and institutions shall through their proper officers or deputies furnish to such committees and the legislative budget office such data, information or statements as may be necessary for the proper exercise of their powers and duties and for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this article. The finance and ways and means committee in exercising the powers and performing the duties prescribed by this article may act jointly, or separately, as they deem advisable.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to creation of the non-partisan legislative budget office
Purpose
Creates a nonpartisan budget office to provide budget related informa- tion to the committees of the senate and assembly.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 creates a new Article 4-B of the Legislative Law and amends
Read the full memo (738 words)
Section 30 of the Legislative Law.
Section 76. Non-partisan Legislative Budget Office.
1. Definitions.
2. Appointment of the Director of the Legislative Budget Office. The Director shall be appointed to a seven-year term by a joint resolution requiring a super-majority vote of both the senate and assembly.
3. Appointment of a Deputy Director, who can temporarily succeed the Director when the Director resigns or is removed before his or her term expires.
4. Director prohibitions and compensation.
5. Removal of the Director through a two-thirds vote from the members elected to either branch of the legislature. Section 77. Powers and duties of the office; report.
1. Types of fiscal analytical information the Director shall provide to the Legislature.
2. Assistance the Legislative Budget Office shall provide to committees of the Senate and Assembly.
3. Hiring authority of the Director.
4. Legislative Budget Office report on the Executive Budget.
5. Funding sources the Legislative Budget Office and spending authority of its Director.
Section 2. amends Section 30 of the Legislative Law. Legislative budget office access to all state entities Authority of the Legislative Budget Office to gain access to all state entities for the purpose of obtaining information on state operations and financial conditions.
Existing law
None.
Justification
A nonpartisan legislative budget office (LBO) should be created in order to provide objective analysis of the state's budget and fiscal situ- ation. Modeled on the Congressional Budget Office (CEO), the mission of the LBO will be to provide budget, economic and policy analysis for the residents of the state and its elected officials. Their role at the LBO will be to increase the legislature's understanding of the budget and how it affects New Yorkers.
Currently, the majority and minority parties of each house of the Legis- lature as well as the governor have a fiscal and budget staff to provide them insight into the financial matters of the state. These partisan offices provide information solely to their respective membership. This costly and duplicative process entrenches the parties and reinforces their positions. Rather than using unbiased figures, each house uses its numbers to the advantage of their priorities and at the expense of their adversaries. The result has been a protracted budget debate where posi- tions are staked and compromise is limited. A single nonpartisan budget office will ameliorate the situation and provide all the members with raw data which they can utilize in shaping a policy debate among their colleagues.
The effectiveness of the LBO rests squarely on its ability to serve all members of the Legislature, regardless of the house in which they serve or the side of the isle on which they sit. To achieve this end, under this legislation, majority and minority members would be granted equal access to the services of the LBO and reports it prepares. At the committee level, the LBO would have to respond to requests for informa- tion from the chairs and ranking members of Senate and Assembly commit- tees. At the member level, the LBO would have to provide assistance in preparing fiscal notes for bills at the request of any legislator. This request would be based on a priority processing system developed by the Director in consultation with the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Commit- tee.
Further, to help build trust between the LBO and the Senate and Assem- bly, the new office's Director would be selected regardless of his or her political affiliation by the majority leaders of the Senate and Assembly, in consultation with the minority leaders of the Senate and Assembly. The Director shall then be appointed by a joint resolution requiring a super majority vote of both the Senate and Assembly.
Legislative history
2009-2010: S.4526A/A.653-A 2011-2012: S.445/A.5927 2013-2014: S.3450/A.79 2015-2016: S.2672/A.5717 2017-2018: S.4583/A.10579
Fiscal implications
Revenue neutral. The legislative budget office shall be funded from the Legislative Budget, with equal allocations provided by the senate and the assembly as they deem appropriate.
Local fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
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