BILL NUMBER: S5927
SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to creation of the
non-partisan legislative budget office
 
PURPOSE:
Creates a nonpartisan budget office to provide budget related informa-
tion to the committees of the senate and assembly.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
SECTION 1 of the bill creates a new Article 4-B of the Legislative Law,
with new sections 76 and 77 as follows:
Section 76. Non-partisan Legislative Budget Office.
1. Definitions.
2. Appointment of the Director of the Legislative Budget Office. The
Director shall be appointed to a seven-year term by a joint resolution
requiring a supermajority vote of both the senate and assembly.
3. Appointment of a Deputy Director, who can temporarily succeed the
Director when the Director resigns or is removed before his or her term
expires.
4. Director prohibitions and compensation.
5. Removal of the Director through a two-thirds vote from the members
elected to either branch of the legislature.
Section 77. Powers and duties of the office; report.
1. Types of fiscal analytical information the Director shall provide to
the Legislature.
2. Assistance the Legislative Budget Office shall provide to committees
of the Senate and Assembly.
3. Hiring authority of the Director.
4. Legislative Budget Office report on the Executive Budget.
5. Funding sources the Legislative Budget Office and spending authority
of its Director.
SECTION 2 of the bill amends Section 30 of the Legislative Law. Legis-
lative budget office shall have access to all state entities for the
purpose of obtaining information on state operations and financial
conditions.
 
EXISTING LAW:
None.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
A nonpartisan legislative budget office (LBO) must be created in order
to provide objective analysis of the state's budget and fiscal situ-
ation. Modeled on the Congressional Budget Office (CEO), the mission of
the LBO will be to provide budget, economic and policy analysis for the
residents of the state and its elected officials. The role of the LBO
will be to increase the legislature's understanding of the budget and
how it affects New Yorkers.
Currently, the majority and minority parties of each house of the Legis-
lature as well as the governor have fiscal and budget staff to provide
them insight into the financial matters of the state. These partisan
offices provide information solely to their respective membership. This
costly and duplicative process entrenches the parties and reinforces
their positions. Rather than using unbiased figures, each house and each
conference uses its numbers to the advantage of their priorities and at
the expense of their adversaries. The result has been a protracted budg-
et debate where positions are staked and compromise is limited. A single
nonpartisan budget office will ameliorate the situation and provide all
the members with raw data which they can utilize in shaping a policy
debate among their colleagues.
The effectiveness of the LBO rests squarely on its ability to serve all
members of the Legislature, regardless of the house in which they serve
or the side of the aisle on which they sit. To achieve this end, under
this legislation, majority and minority members would be granted equal
access to the services of the LBO and reports it prepares. At the
committee level, the LBO would have to respond to requests for informa-
tion from the chairs and ranking members of Senate and Assembly commit-
tees. At the member level, the LBO would have to provide assistance in
preparing fiscal notes for bills at the request of any legislator. This
request would be based on a priority processing system developed by the
Director in consultation with the chairs and ranking members of the
Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Commit-
tee.
Further, to help build trust between the LBO and the Senate and Assem-
bly, the new office's Director would be selected regardless of his or
her political affiliation by the majority leaders of the Senate and
Assembly, in consultation with the minority leaders of the Senate and
Assembly. The Director shall then be appointed by a joint resolution
requiring a supermajority vote of both the Senate and Assembly.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
SENATE:
2023-2024: S480 (Salazar) - Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations
2021-2022: S6819 (Salazar)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations
2019-2020: S3287 (Kreuger)- Referred to Ethics and Internal Governance,
Committed to Finance
2017-2018: S4583 (Kreuger)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations
2015-2016: S2672 (Kreuger)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations
2013-2014: S3450 (Kreuger)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations
2012: S445 (Krueger) Referred to Investigations and Gov't Operations,
Committed to Rules
2011: S445 (Kreuger)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Operations
2010: S4526A (Krueger) - Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations, Committed to Finance, Committed to Rules, Amended
2009: S4526A (Kreuger)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Operations
2007-2008: S1675 (Kreuger)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations
2005-2006: 52295 (Kreuger)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations
2003-2004: 54680 (Kreuger)- Referred to Investigations and Gov't Oper-
ations
ASSEMBLY:
2023-2024: A3741 (Epstein) - Referred to Gov't Operations
2022: A8636 (Galef)- Referred to Gov't Operations
2019-2020: A1835 (Ortiz)- Referred to Gov't Operations
2018: A10579 (Ortiz)- Referred to Gov't Operations
2017: A8600 (Kavanagh)- Referred to Gov't Operations, Enacting Clause
Stricken
2015-2016: A5717 (Kavanagh) - Referred to Gov't Operations
2013-2014: A79 (Kavanagh)- Referred to Gov't Operations
2011-2012: A5927 (Kavanagh)- Referred to Gov't Operations
2009-2010: A653A (Kavanagh)- Referred to Gov't Operations, Amended
2007-2008: A8248 (Kavanagh)- Referred to Gov't Operations
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Revenue neutral. The legislative budget office
shall be funded from the Legislative Budget, with equal allocations
provided by the senate and the assembly as they deem appropriate.
 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S5927: 30 legislative law