State lawmakers make decisions about tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money, but under a new rule from state auditors only a few dozen of the most powerful lawmakers will be able to request information about how exactly those decisions will affect the state’s finances.
The State Department of Audits and Accounts and the Office of Planning and Budget are responsible for producing what are known as fiscal notes. The analysis describe how much proposed legislation will cost, or how much a potential fee would bring in. For example, during a 2015 debate over a billion-dollar transportation bill that included new taxes, a fiscal note helped guide discussion in the Legislature.
The new rule says “any fiscal note requests made after the legislative session begins will need to come directly from the committee chair to which the bill is assigned.”
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