Joint Fiscal Office staff brief Government Operations & Military Affairs committee on fiscal-note process

House Government Operations & Military Affairs members heard a Jan. 15 briefing from staff of the Joint Fiscal Office on how the office prepares fiscal notes and how legislators should engage the office on bills that could affect state revenues and the budget.

The briefing, given by Chris Roop of the Joint Fiscal Office, explained that fiscal notes are prepared at the request of the chair of a money committee and are focused on near-term impacts to the state budget and revenues rather than broader policy effects. “Our fiscal notes will not tell you how your wonderful idea will change the world. Our fiscal notes will tell you how your wonderful idea will impact the state budget and revenues in the near term,” Roop said.

Roop said the Joint Fiscal Office has roughly 17 staff across several teams and that the office does not produce fiscal notes for every introduced bill. He described the office’s revenue team and noted staff assignments: James Duffy, a new fiscal analyst at the Joint Fiscal Office, will primarily staff energy and natural-resources issues; Ted Barnett, a senior fiscal analyst, works on consumption taxes and agency fees; and Pat Titterton is another revenue analyst who focuses on income and consumption taxes but was not present at the briefing.

Roop defined “OPED” — other post-employment benefits — for the committee, saying it commonly refers to subsidized retiree health care: “Other post employment benefits, which is bureaucratic speak for retiree healthcare,” he said.

Committee members were urged to engage the Joint Fiscal Office early in the bill-drafting process so staff can plan work and respond before busy periods such as crossover. Roop asked that members include the office’s contacts on correspondence about bills with fiscal implications: “If you are working on a bill that’s got a fiscal impact and it’s got legs and you expect to move it, just engage us as early as you feel appropriate,” he said, later adding, “please include all 3 of us.”

Roop also forecast that preparations tied to a separate election scenario would occupy much of the office’s near-term workload, limiting staff capacity for large number-crunching projects until later in the legislative session.

No formal actions or votes were taken during the briefing. The presentation was informational: staff identified who to contact, described which topics they typically cover, and explained the timing and purpose of fiscal notes.