Committee staff explain fiscal-impact tracking, new electronic committee voting and a DOCR reentry simulation for members

Legislative analysts used the committee’s orientation to explain how fiscal notes, the weekly fiscal impact report and the budget-status report will be used this session, to introduce online agency budget documents, and to demonstrate a new electronic committee voting system that will speed publication of committee votes and standing reports.

For the record, Keith Mance, fiscal analyst with the Legislative Council, explained that fiscal notes are requested whenever bills or amendments have measurable revenue or expenditure effects and that the fiscal impact report published weekly summarizes bills with estimated impacts of $100,000 or more. “All appropriation bills except main agency appropriation bills are also included in the fiscal impact report,” Mance told members, and staff explained how bills move from policy committees into the appropriations tracking process.

Nut graf: The committee’s procedural briefings aimed to reduce lag time between committee action and public availability of related documents by publishing amendments and votes faster, and to give members a single place to find agency decision packages and budget worksheets online.

Adam Matiuk and OMB analysts walked members through the agency pages and decision-package documents available on the Legislative Council and OMB websites and noted that the new blue/green/purple agency sheets will be available electronically; members were shown where to download the detailed executive budget and decision-package PDFs.

Cody Malloy, IT director for Legislative Council, described the committee voting software that the council has begun using in several committees. Malloy said clerks will record committee votes electronically; the system can also let legislators vote on iPads if a chair so chooses. He said the immediate publication of votes and the ability to auto-generate a signed standing committee report will reduce delays between committee action and public posting of committee documents.

Representative Nelson described a Department of Corrections (DOCR) reentry simulation the committee will run in conjunction with DOCR director Colby Braun. Nelson said the simulation follows a resident’s first days after prison release to help legislators understand reentry challenges and program connections and will be offered to house appropriations members on Friday.

Ending: Staff told members they will email weekly budget-status and fiscal-impact reports and that analysts and OMB staff are available for follow-up questions. The committee agreed that clerks will record votes electronically while the chair will continue to solicit verbal votes for full-committee actions at the outset of implementation.