Bill Text: PA SB1 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishing the Legislative Fiscal Office and providing for its powers and duties; and making a related repeal.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 18-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2009-07-20 - Referred to FINANCE [SB1 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB1-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1043
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 1 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, PILEGGI, ORIE, BAKER, FOLMER, EARLL, ERICKSON, BRUBAKER, TOMLINSON, VANCE, PIPPY, SMUCKER, WOZNIAK, ROBBINS, CORMAN, WAUGH AND GORDNER, MAY 27, 2009
REFERRED TO FINANCE, MAY 27, 2009
AN ACT
Establishing the Legislative Fiscal Office and providing for its
powers and duties; and making a related repeal.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Legislative
Fiscal Office Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Baseline budget." A draft budget using current dollar
values that projects current year levels of budget authority,
outlays and revenues and the deficit or surplus into the new
budget year and out years on the basis of current laws and
policies.
"Committee." The Legislative Fiscal Office Selection
Committee.
"Commonwealth agency." Any office, department, authority,
board, multistate agency or commission of the executive branch.
The term includes:
(1) The Office of the Governor.
(2) The Office of Attorney General, the Department of
the Auditor General and the Treasury Department.
(3) An independent agency as defined in the act of
February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know
Law.
(4) A State-affiliated entity as defined in the act of
February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know
Law.
(5) The General Assembly.
(6) The Judiciary.
"Director." The director of the Legislative Fiscal Office.
"Office." The Legislative Fiscal Office established in
section 3.
Section 3. Office established.
There is hereby established a nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal
Office as an independent agency.
Section 4. Duties of office.
The office shall:
(1) Prepare revenue estimates to include Federal funds,
State revenues and funds from other resources, including any
projected revenue surplus or deficit for a given fiscal year,
as provided under section 5.
(2) By January 1, provide a baseline budget that
includes levels of spending necessary to retain all current
programs and statutory requirements.
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(3) Provide an analysis of the executive budget,
including budgetary projections, economic outlook and
economic impact and an analysis of all related tax and
revenue proposals. The budget analysis may include
performance recommendations to secure greater efficiency and
economy.
(4) Develop and use econometric models to annually
forecast State revenues and update the models. The office
shall make the equations of a model and any historic
databases related thereto available to the Appropriations
Committee of the Senate, the Appropriations Committee of the
House of Representatives, the Majority Leader and Minority
Leader of the Senate and the Majority Leader and Minority
Leader of the House of Representatives.
(5) By November 15 of each year, provide an assessment
of the State's current fiscal condition and a projection of
what the fiscal condition will be during the next five years.
The assessment shall take into account the state of the
economy, demographics, revenues and expenditures.
(6) Monitor State taxes and other receipts.
(7) Develop performance measures for executive level
programs and departments and evaluate performance measures
and results as promulgated and reported by executive level
departments. Performance measurements shall be outcomes-based
and include, but not be limited to, activity cost analysis,
measures of status improvement of recipient populations,
economic outcomes and performance benchmarks against similar
State programs.
(8) Establish an Internet website.
Section 5. Revenue estimates.
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(a) Initial revenue estimate.--By the second week of
February, the office shall submit to the General Assembly an
initial revenue estimate for the next fiscal year.
(b) Official revenue estimate.--
(1) By June 15 of each year, the office shall submit to
the General Assembly an official final revenue estimate for
the next fiscal year.
(2) The revenue estimate submitted under this section
shall establish the maximum amount of tax revenue which may
be considered for the General Appropriation Act for the
ensuing fiscal year. No changes in the revenue estimates
shall be made by the office thereafter unless changes in
statutes affecting revenues and receipts are enacted.
(3) The office shall publish the methodology used to
develop revenue estimates.
(c) Information.--The office shall provide the
Appropriations Committee of the Senate, the Appropriations
Committee of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of
the Budget all data, assumptions and econometric models used to
develop projections and revenue estimates.
(d) Required information.--
(1) A revenue estimate submitted by the office under
this subsection shall include all of the following:
(i) An assessment of the Pennsylvania economy and
the national economy and the impact of the existing or
emerging State or national economic trends on revenue
performance for the current year and the forecasted or
projected revenue collections for the budget year and the
succeeding year.
(ii) A summary of current year-to-date revenue
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collections by specific tax or revenue source, including
Federal funds, the General Fund, the Lottery Fund and the
Motor License Fund and a detailed explanation of any
negative or positive variation from the prior year's
official revenue estimate, including the reasons or
events contributing to the variation.
(iii) Any projected revenue surplus or deficit for
the current budget year.
(2) A revenue estimate shall be based on existing
statutes and tax policy and existing or emerging State or
national economic trends.
(3) The office shall prepare a revenue estimate of any
change in State tax law proposed as part of the annual State
budget. If the proposed change in State tax law will have a
fiscal impact in excess of $10,000,000 in any fiscal year,
the estimate shall be prepared on the basis of assumptions
that estimate the probable behavioral responses of taxpayers,
businesses and other persons to the proposed changes and
shall include a statement identifying those assumptions.
(e) Department of Revenue.--The Department of Revenue in
conjunction with the Secretary of the Budget shall make revenue
estimates for the use of the Governor in preparing the budget.
(f) Governor.--The Governor shall item veto any part of any
appropriation bill that causes total appropriations to exceed
the official revenue estimate under subsection (b) plus any
unappropriated surplus.
Section 6. Budget information.
The office shall be notified and shall attend any briefings
provided by the Governor or the Secretary of the Budget under
section 619 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known
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as The Administrative Code of 1929.
Section 7. Expenditures.
(a) Expenditure reports.--Commonwealth agencies shall make
monthly expenditure data available to the office. The data shall
be provided within seven days after the end of each month. The
monthly data shall include a summary of the last monthly
submission. The data shall be provided in finished reports or
electronically, as determined by the office. The data shall be
provided by fund, by appropriation, by department and by
organization within each department and shall include:
(1) Number of filled personnel positions and their cost.
(2) Itemized personnel vacancies and their cost.
(3) New positions created and their cost.
(4) Wage and overtime costs.
(5) Allotments and expenditures for itemized personnel
expenses.
(6) Allotments and expenditures for itemized operating
expenses.
(7) Allotment and expenditures for itemized fixed
assets.
(8) The rate of expenditures in appropriations for major
subsidy and grant programs during the month.
(b) Budget requests.--Commonwealth agencies shall submit
their agency budget requests to the office and the Office of the
Budget. The Commonwealth agency budget requests shall be
submitted to both offices at the same time.
(c) Revenue reports.--The Governor shall make monthly
revenue reports to the office. The revenue reports shall show
the actual collection of revenue itemized by source and a
comparison of the actual collections with estimated collections
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for each month. The comparison shall include an analysis of any
change in collection patterns which will cause a shortfall or
overrun on annual estimates of more than 1%.
(d) Other revenue data.--Commonwealth agencies shall cause
to be prepared any other revenue data as may be requested from
time to time by the office.
(e) Electronic access.--Except for information that is
confidential pursuant to statute, the office shall have access
to all information available under this section on inquiry-only
screens through an integrated central computer system.
Section 8. Revenue conference.
By January 31 of each year, the office shall convene a
meeting with the Secretary of the Budget and the chairman and
minority chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate
and the chairman and minority chairman of the Appropriations
Committee of the House of Representatives to discuss the
following:
(1) An assessment of the Pennsylvania economy and the
national economy and the impact of the economic trends on
revenue performance for the budget year and the succeeding
year.
(2) Recommended changes to revenue forecasting and
econometric models being considered by the office.
(3) Current year-to-date revenue collections by specific
tax or revenue source, including Federal funds, the General
Fund, the Lottery Fund and the Motor License Fund and
variations that may be occurring in the revenue estimate
submitted under section 5(a).
(4) Any statutory or tax policy changes that may be
recommended by the Governor or the General Assembly for the
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next succeeding fiscal year.
Section 9. Access to information.
(a) Agencies.--The director is authorized to secure
information, data, expense information, estimates and statistics
directly from a Commonwealth agency or a political subdivision.
All Commonwealth agencies and political subdivisions shall
furnish the director with all reports of expenditure for each
agency and any other available material or data which the
director determines to be necessary in the performance of the
duties of the office, other than material the disclosure of
which would be a violation of law. The director is also
authorized, upon agreement with the head of any Commonwealth
agency or political subdivision, to utilize the services,
facilities and personnel of the agency with or without
reimbursement.
(b) Office of the Budget.--In carrying out the duties and
functions of the office, the director is authorized to obtain
information, data, estimates and statistics developed by the
Office of the Budget and all Commonwealth agencies. The Governor
shall submit to the office copies of final agency budget
requests.
(c) Computer database.--In order to carry out its duties
under this act, the office shall have access to any computerized
database of a State agency that is required to aid the office in
the performance of its duties, except that any statutory
requirements regarding privacy of individuals' records shall be
observed in providing access.
(d) Daily revenue data.--
(1) The Secretary of Revenue and the Secretary of the
Budget shall post revenue collection data for each deposit
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day and make the information available to the office and the
chairman and minority chairman of the Appropriations
Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority
chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the House of
Representatives.
(2) The daily revenue data shall be presented in a
manner similar to and consistent with the daily revenue data
provided on June 30, 2007. In no case shall each deposit day
contain less information than was accessible during the
2006-2007 fiscal year as a result of changes in reporting
procedures, accounting systems or computer systems.
(3) The Governor, the Attorney General, the Auditor
General and the State Treasurer shall cause to be prepared
any other revenue data as may be requested by the office.
(e) Civil action.--If information is not made available by a
Commonwealth agency or political subdivision within a reasonable
time, the director may make a written request to the agency
head, stating the authority to receive the information. The
agency head shall have ten days to respond. If the information
is not provided within ten days of the receipt of the agency
response, the director may bring a civil action to require the
agency head to provide the information.
Section 10. Director.
(a) Selection committee.--There is hereby established a
committee to select the director of the office consisting of the
following:
(1) The chairman and minority chairman of the
Appropriations Committee of the Senate and the chairman and
minority chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the
House of Representatives.
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(2) The Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the
Senate and the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives.
(3) The President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(b) Appointment.--The office shall be headed by a director
appointed by the selection committee under subsection (a). The
appointment shall be made without regard to political
affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the
duties of the office based on qualifications published by the
selection committee.
(c) Deputy director.--The director shall appoint a deputy
director who shall perform such duties as assigned by the
director and who shall during the absence or incapacity of the
director or a vacancy act as the director.
(d) Term.--The term of office of the director shall be four
years. An 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. An individual serving as
director at the expiration of a term may continue to serve until
a successor is appointed.
(e) Removal.--The director may be removed by a concurrent
resolution passed by the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
Section 11. Powers and duties of director.
(a) Personnel.--The director shall appoint and fix the
compensation of personnel as necessary to carry out the duties
and functions of the office. All personnel of the office shall
be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely
on the basis of their fitness to perform their duties.
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(b) Experts and consultants.--In carrying out the duties and
functions of the office, the director may procure the temporary
or intermittent services of experts or consultants or
organization thereof by contract.
Section 12. Repeal.
Section 618 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175),
known as The Administrative Code of 1929, is repealed in order
to effectuate the provisions of this act.
Section 20. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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