Joint Fiscal Office outlines fiscal notes, state-only modeling and research resources for Agriculture committee

At a committee orientation meeting, Joint Fiscal Office staff described how the office supports legislators with fiscal notes, statutorily required reports and research resources relevant to the House Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry Committee.

The office’s work centers on state revenue and spending. “Broadly speaking, you’ll be hearing from legislative counsel soon, but they handle the words, we handle the money,” Joint Fiscal Office staff said. The office writes fiscal notes for bills that move out of policy committees and toward money committees so appropriators have an estimate of expected revenue and spending impacts.

Why it matters: committee members heard that timely contact with JFO improves the office’s ability to estimate costs and administrative effects for legislation the committee may consider. That can affect whether and how appropriations are listed in bills going to the Appropriations Committee.

Key points explained by JFO staff:

- Fiscal notes: When a bill with an appropriation moves from policy committee work to the appropriators, the chair typically requests a fiscal note so the Appropriations Committee has consolidated revenue and spending information. “So the process goes that, as a bill is moving out of your committee and it does contain an appropriation, generally, the chair is the one. So your chair would request a fiscal note on that bill,” the staff member said.

- Scope limits: JFO staff repeatedly emphasized the office models state-level revenue and spending only. “We generally don’t estimate what happens at the municipal level,” the staff member said. The office also does not perform dynamic modeling (that is, it does not forecast secondary economic impacts such as job creation) and stays narrowly focused on direct state budget effects.

- Available products: JFO produces fiscal notes, longer issue briefs in the summer on priority topics, a yearly Fiscal Facts publication with historical data, a periodic Fiscal Focus newsletter, and statutorily required reports such as tax-expenditure inventories that estimate the revenue effects of exemptions.

- Other-state comparisons and data: JFO conducts research on other states’ revenue experiences when requested and uses that work to inform estimates. The staff encouraged legislators to provide early notice when a bill will have a money component so JFO can advise on administrative structure and likely fiscal impact.

- How to engage JFO: staff encouraged members to ask legislative counsel to loop JFO in early on draft bills; Emily Byrne, identified in the meeting as deputy fiscal officer, was mentioned as a point of contact for closer engagement. The staff said some historical series are more readily available than others and that JFO can often pull multisource state revenue data going back decades when feasible.

Committee members asked practical questions about current-use and property tax exemptions, revenue series, federal funds and timelines for requesting notes; JFO staff answered that some questions—especially about agency obligations for federal funds—are often best addressed by the implementing agency but that JFO will help where it can.

The orientation closed with staff reminding members that JFO’s resources and products are available from the legislative website and that early contact improves the office’s ability to provide clear fiscal information to committees and appropriators.