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LSO introduces impact‑review team to support evidence‑based budget work for JFAC
Summary
Paul Headley of the Legislative Services Office introduced a newly expanded impact‑review team to Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee members, describing analysts assigned to research, IT and evaluation tasks to support performance‑based budget decisions.
Paul Headley, deputy chief at the Legislative Services Office (LSO), introduced the committee on Jan. 8 to a new impact‑review team designed to support evidence‑based budget analysis and performance budgeting for JFAC.
Headley described a five‑person core team and additional research fellows who will provide short written products, targeted data searches, mapping and IT analysis for committee staff and members. “As I’ve looked at performance measures, performance budgeting, recently and over the years, there’s one theme that kind of continues to rise to the top and that’s evidence,” Headley told the committee.
Members of the impact team named in the orientation include Casey Hartwig (public schools, higher education and natural resources research), Alex Penny (audits and evaluations background), and Alex Hatfield (impact review analyst, IT and GIS support). Headley also introduced two research fellows placed through a partnership with the McClure Center for Public Policy: Ellen Upton (pharmacology/biomedical science background) and Kalyn (surname not given in the presentation) with engineering and data experience. The LSO described the team’s products as ranging from brief email responses to one‑ or two‑page memos and deeper research as requested.
Headley said the new staffing will help JFAC and analysts examine program evidence: whether similar programs have worked in other jurisdictions, what outcomes were achieved, and what data exist to evaluate proposals. He suggested the team can help assess return on investment, point to relevant databases, and assist the committee and working groups as they vet agency enhancement requests.
LSO and the committee co‑chairs framed the hiring and partnerships as part of a broader push toward performance budgeting and improved access to evaluative evidence during the appropriations process. Committee members were encouraged to use the team in working groups and hearings to answer technical questions and to deepen staff analysis of agency proposals.
