New budget office to change how dollars and cents of legislation are evaluated

Change is coming to the way lawmakers discover how much potential legislation could cost.

Fiscal notes can help shape debates and further inform legislators looking for financial insight into potential policies by providing estimates of costs, savings, and revenue gains or losses. In the past, Minnesota Management and Budget published fiscal notes, but a law passed in last year’s special session created a new $818,000 Legislative Budget Office, which will be tasked with providing both the House and Senate with “nonpartisan, accurate, and timely information” on bills “without regard to political factors.”

On Wednesday, the House State Government Finance Committee heard from Rep. Bob Vogel (R-Elko New Market) and others about the transition of fiscal note writing from the executive to the legislative branch. Vogel, who successfully introduced the idea last session, leads a task force responsible for informing and overseeing the transition.

Rep. Bob Vogel

“I really believe this is a valuable thing for the Legislature to have,” Vogel said.

Legislative Coordinating Commission Director Greg Hubinger said the new budget office – with an unknown office location – will consist of 6.5 full-time staff members, including a director who’s expected to start July 1. But the task force has its work cut out for itself: state law requires a report before the end of 2018 and the 2019 legislative session starts in early January.

“I’m just a little concerned about the workload and the really fast start that’s going to have to happen,” Rep. JoAnn Ward (DFL-Woodbury) said.

Shifting the fiscal note authority from the administration to the Legislature wasn’t without criticism, either. Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein (DFL-New Brighton) questioned the purpose and Rep. Liz Olson (DFL-Duluth) said, “What got us here was some partisan disagreements over whether MMB did a good job.”

“It was the realization… that we have the checkbook,” Vogel said. “But we’ve been allowing someone else to tell us how much the power bill is.”

Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia) questioned the accuracy of fiscal notes in recent years, citing last session’s barbs with MN.IT and its services, and MMB over an employee gainsharing program.

“I think we all agree that we want the most accurate information,” Nash said.