Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 18a - Joint Committee on Legislative Management
Section 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; and (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. 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; P.A. 13-247, S. 58.)
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; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting former Subdiv. (15) requiring legislative Office of Fiscal Analysis to periodically review the fiscal note of each enacted bill to compare it to the fiscal note prepared at the time of enactment of the bill, effective July 1, 2013.

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