1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the legislature; establishing a 
  1.3             legislative budget office; appropriating money; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 3.98, 
  1.5             subdivision 3; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 3. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [3.901] [LEGISLATIVE BUDGET OFFICE.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.] A legislative 
  1.10  budget office is established under the control of the 
  1.11  legislative coordinating commission to provide the house and 
  1.12  senate with independent, accurate, and timely information and 
  1.13  analysis regarding state revenues and expenditures.  The office 
  1.14  shall provide information on request of the chair of a standing 
  1.15  committee or division of a standing committee of the 
  1.16  legislature, the chair of a legislative commission, the speaker 
  1.17  of the house, the president of the senate, or the majority or 
  1.18  minority leader of the house or senate. 
  1.19     Subd. 2.  [DUTIES.] The legislative budget office shall: 
  1.20     (1) provide research and analysis of current and projected 
  1.21  state revenue, state expenditures, and state tax expenditures; 
  1.22     (2) provide alternative revenue and expenditure projections 
  1.23  on request; 
  1.24     (3) conduct budget and tax studies and provide general 
  1.25  fiscal and budgetary information; 
  1.26     (4) recommend means to improve the efficiency of state and 
  2.1   local government programs; 
  2.2      (5) analyze state and local government capital expenditures 
  2.3   and means of financing them; 
  2.4      (6) prepare fiscal notes or review fiscal notes prepared by 
  2.5   the executive branch; 
  2.6      (7) assist standing committees with analysis of fiscal 
  2.7   matters within their jurisdiction; and 
  2.8      (8) provide other assistance as requested by the 
  2.9   legislature, either house, or the legislative coordinating 
  2.10  commission. 
  2.11     Sec. 2.  [3.902] [EMPLOYEES; LEGISLATIVE BUDGET OFFICE.] 
  2.12     Subdivision 1.  [DIRECTOR.] The legislative coordinating 
  2.13  commission shall appoint a qualified director of the legislative 
  2.14  budget office who serves at the pleasure of the commission.  The 
  2.15  commission shall fix the director's compensation.  
  2.16     Subd. 2.  [OTHER STAFF.] Subject to the approval of the 
  2.17  commission, the director shall: 
  2.18     (1) employ and fix the compensation of other staff 
  2.19  necessary to efficiently perform the duties imposed upon the 
  2.20  office; 
  2.21     (2) buy necessary furniture, equipment, and supplies; and 
  2.22     (3) enter into contracts for services as necessary to 
  2.23  efficiently perform the duties imposed upon the office. 
  2.24     Sec. 3.  [3.903] [ACCESS TO DATA.] 
  2.25     All departments and agencies of the executive and judicial 
  2.26  branches must comply with requests from the director of the 
  2.27  legislative budget office for information, data, estimates, and 
  2.28  statistics on the funding, revenue, operation, and affairs of 
  2.29  the department or agency.  The commissioner of finance and 
  2.30  commissioner of revenue shall provide the director with full and 
  2.31  free access to information, data, estimates, and statistics in 
  2.32  the possession of the finance or revenue department on the state 
  2.33  budget, revenue, expenditures, and tax expenditures, including 
  2.34  access to computerized databases and computer systems. 
  2.35     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 3.98, subdivision 
  2.36  3, is amended to read: 
  3.1      Subd. 3.  A copy of the fiscal note shall be delivered to 
  3.2   the chair of the appropriations ways and means committee of the 
  3.3   house of representatives, the chair of the finance committee of 
  3.4   the senate, the chair of the standing committee to which the 
  3.5   bill has been referred, to the chief author of the bill, the 
  3.6   director of the legislative budget office, and to the 
  3.7   commissioner of finance. 
  3.8      Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.9      The appropriation in Laws 1999, chapter 250, article 1, 
  3.10  section 14, for fiscal year 2001 is reduced by $....... and this 
  3.11  amount is appropriated to the legislative coordinating 
  3.12  commission for the legislative budget office for fiscal year 
  3.13  2001.