Capitolwire: Proposed fiscal agency must be independent, able to publish findings, experts say

The following is an excerpt on the February 4th Capitolwire.com story on a hearing before the Senate and House Finance Committees on a plan to create an independent legislative fiscal office:

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Sharon Ward of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center said the Legislature’s “growing interest in the budget process and budget transparency is welcome.”

She urged the legislation be amended to require more reports from the new agency explaining state spending and the state budget to residents, citing an Ohio breakdown of state spending in each county, as an example.

She also testified: “It is clear that determining the official revenue estimate is a source of conflict between the executive and legislative branch. The process anticipated in Act 50 would raise the stakes in that conflict.”

Ward suggested a consensus process be used to resolve any disputes over the revenue forecast, and that the office help explain what was passed after the budget is enacted annually.

“The proposal, as construed, seeks to hold the executive branch more accountable,” she said, “but the General Assembly needs to square that circle and include in the proposal greater accountability to the public.”

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