NY State Senate Bill S3287

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
In Committee
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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 28, 2019	reported and committed to finance
Feb 05, 2019	referred to ethics

Votes

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Feb 28, 2019 - Ethics and Internal Governance committee Vote

S3287

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Ethics and Internal Governance Committee Vote: Feb 28, 2019

aye (6)

aye wr (1)

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Co-Sponsors

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1835
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Legislative Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 4-B §§76 & 77, amd §30, Leg L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S4526, A653
2011-2012: S445, A5927
2013-2014: S3450, A79
2015-2016: S2672, A5717
2017-2018: S4583, A8600, A10579

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Creates the non-partisan legislative budget office; directs such office shall provide information to legislative committees of the senate and assembly with respect to the state budget, appropriation bills and other bills providing budget authority or tax expenditures; requires such office to report to the temporary president of the senate, the senate minority leader, the speaker of the assembly and the assembly minority leader.

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S3287

SPONSOR: KRUEGER
 
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

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.

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf


                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3287

                       2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            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  ASSEM-
BLY, 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 ESTAB-
LISHED IN THIS ARTICLE; AND
  B. "DIRECTOR" MEANS THE DIRECTOR OF THE NON-PARTISAN LEGISLATIVE BUDG-
ET 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 INDIVID-
UAL 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  INDI-
VIDUAL 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 DETER-
MINING WHETHER ANY PROPOSED STATE BUDGET IS BALANCED;
  (III) BE CHARGED WITH THE DUTY OF RENDERING ANTICIPATED REVENUE  FORE-
CAST  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  LEGIS-
LATION.
  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 PRES-
IDENT 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.

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S3287

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

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Votes

Feb 28, 2019 - Ethics and Internal Governance committee Vote

Ethics and Internal Governance Committee Vote: Feb 28, 2019

Co-Sponsors

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Details

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S3287

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Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

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Actions

Votes

Feb 28, 2019 - Ethics and Internal Governance committee Vote

Ethics and Internal Governance Committee Vote: Feb 28, 2019

Co-Sponsors

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Details

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S3287 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments