Sec. 2-71c. Offices of Legislative Research and Fiscal Analysis. Executive director and directors and functions of offices. Assistance from municipalities and state agencies.
Sec. 2-71c. Offices of Legislative Research and Fiscal Analysis. Executive director and directors and functions of offices. Assistance from municipalities and
state agencies. (a) The Joint Committee on Legislative Management shall create a legislative Office of Legislative Research and a legislative Office of Fiscal Analysis.
(b) The legislative Office of Legislative Research shall assist the General Assembly
and the Legislative Department, legislative commissions and legislative committees in
a research and advisory capacity as follows: (1) Assisting the development of legislative
programs; (2) analyzing the long-range implications of the several alternative programs;
(3) preparing abstracts, summaries, explanations of state executive agency and federal
government reports; (4) informing the legislative leaders of action taken by the federal
government with regard to problems of their particular concern and federal law; (5)
assisting in the research and writing of interim reports; (6) preparing bill analyses and
summaries; (7) assisting in hearings by preparing agendas, contacting potential witnesses, scheduling their appearances and analyzing testimonies; and (8) performing
such other research and analysis services as may be determined by the Joint Committee
on Legislative Management.
(c) The legislative Office of Fiscal Analysis shall assist the General Assembly and
the Legislative Department, legislative commissions and legislative committees in a
research and advisory capacity as follows: (1) Reviewing department and program operating budget requests; (2) analyzing and helping to establish priorities with regard to
capital programs; (3) checking executive revenue estimates for accuracy; (4) recommending potential untapped sources of revenue; (5) assisting in legislative hearings
and helping to schedule and prepare the agenda of such hearings; (6) assisting in the
development of means by which budgeted programs can be periodically reviewed; (7)
preparing short analyses of the costs and long-range projections of executive programs
and proposed agency regulations; (8) keeping track of federal aid programs to make
sure that Connecticut is taking full advantage of opportunities for assistance; (9) reviewing, on a continuous basis, departmental budgets and programs; (10) analyzing and
preparing critiques of the Governor's proposed budget; (11) studying, in depth, selected
executive programs during the interim; (12) performing such other services in the field
of finance as may be requested by the Joint Committee on Legislative Management;
(13) preparing the fiscal notes, required under section 2-24, upon favorably reported
bills which require expenditure of state or municipal funds or affect state or municipal
revenue; (14) preparing at the end of each fiscal year a compilation of all fiscal notes
on legislation and agency regulations taking effect in the next fiscal year, including the
total costs, savings and revenue effects estimated in such notes; and (15) every second
and fourth year after the effective date of each enacted bill, review the fiscal note of
such bill to compare it to the fiscal note prepared at the time such bill was enacted. The
governing body of any municipality, if requested, shall provide the Office of Fiscal
Analysis, within two working days, with any information that may be necessary for
analysis in preparation of such fiscal notes. Each officer, board, commission or department of the state government shall assist the Office of Fiscal Analysis in carrying out
its duties and, if requested, shall make its records and accounts available to the office
in a timely manner, except that where there are statutory requirements of confidentiality
with regard to such records and accounts, the identity of any person to whom such
records or accounts relate shall not be disclosed.
(d) Such legislative offices shall undertake research assignments as they may be
assigned and in accordance with procedures established by the Joint Committee on
Legislative Management.
(e) The Joint Committee on Legislative Management shall appoint an executive
director of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management, a director of the legislative
Office of Legislative Research and a director of the legislative Office of Fiscal Analysis
and may employ professional and research staff, clerical assistants and other personnel
as may be required to staff such offices, and the Comptroller is directed to draw his
order on the Treasurer in payment of any sum approved by such committee from the
appropriation to the Joint Committee on Legislative Management and legislative appropriations for the current and subsequent fiscal year.
(1969, P.A. 749, S. 15; P.A. 73-329, S. 2, 4; P.A. 74-108, S. 4; P.A. 78-176, S. 3, 4; P.A. 79-623, S. 3, 8; P.A. 80-483,
S. 6, 186; P.A. 91-261, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-435, S. 21, 95; P.A. 01-195, S. 73, 181; P.A. 05-262, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 73-329 substituted office of legislative research and office of fiscal analysis for office of policy research
and office of fiscal research respectively, required a single director for each office rather than two as formerly and made
change to reflect switch to annual sessions; P.A. 74-108 provided that state agencies should assist office of fiscal analysis;
P.A. 78-176 required municipal governments to supply office of fiscal analysis with needed information; P.A. 79-623
substituted analyses for critiques in (7) and included proposed regulations as subjects for analysis and added (14) providing
for a compilation of fiscal notes; P.A. 80-483 made technical changes; P.A. 91-261 added provision to Subsec. (b) requiring
state agencies to make records and accounts available to office of fiscal analysis, if requested; P.A. 93-435 reorganized
subsections and made technical changes, effective June 28, 1993; (Revisor's note: In 1995 the phrase "joint legislative
management committee" in Subsec. (b) was changed editorially by the Revisors to "Joint Committee on Legislative Management" to conform section to Sec. 2-71a); P.A. 01-195 made a technical change in Subsec. (b)(1), effective July 11,
2001; P.A. 05-262 added Subsec. (c)(15) re periodic review of fiscal notes.