§603. Duties and functions

Subject to the general direction and supervision of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, the Legislative Fiscal Office shall have the following duties and functions:

(1) To develop and make available to the legislature and its committees such fiscal information as will assist the legislature or any legislative committee in its deliberations with the view of pointing out unnecessary programs, projects, and functions; calling attention to inefficient and uneconomical practices; monitoring, reviewing, and analyzing the performance of state agencies; making recommendations for improvement; and carrying out other similar functions.

(2) To continuously review existing and proposed programs and budgets of state agencies.

(3) To review and evaluate requests for appropriations, including proposed plans and policies related to such requests, and make presentations to the House Appropriations Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the legislature in relation thereto.

(4) To analyze the annual budget prepared by the executive branch and make recommendations to the legislature and committees with respect thereto.

(5) To conduct other studies and perform other duties which may be of assistance in directing the financial affairs of the state.

(6) To perform, at the direction of either house or any committee thereof, in-depth studies of programs or statewide policies including studies of a program's accomplishments, the manner in which a program's appropriation has been expended, and the future direction of a program.

(7) To analyze and make recommendations reflecting capital budget requests.

(8) To make continuous short and long range studies of projected revenues and expenditures.

(9) To answer the fiscal information requests of individual legislators to the extent practical.

(10) To evaluate legislative proposals for fiscal effect and provide fiscal notes.

(11) To provide to the extent possible information services for other legislative staff.

(12) To provide to the extent possible fiscal staff services to nonfinance legislative committees supplemental to other staff services.

(13) To participate in interagency staff activities.

(14) To make recommendations to the legislature with respect to procedures and policies to effectuate legislative performances of the functions of budget analysis and review, capital budget study, fiscal policy, fiscal research, departmental operation, efficiency within state government, and other problems and matters related thereto.

(15) To report to the legislature annually with respect to its activities and at such other times as the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget or the legislative fiscal officer deems appropriate.

(16) To carry out all directives issued by either house or committees thereof.

(17) The Legislative Fiscal Office shall submit a report on or before May 1 of each year to the legislature on each professional, personal, and consulting service contract included in the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

(18) To develop and maintain a comprehensive information system on the receipt of revenues by local governmental subdivisions and political subdivisions from local, state, and federal sources, as well as the expenditure of these revenues and to submit a summary of this information annually to the legislature.

(19) At the request of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, to review final judgments against the state after funds have been appropriated for payment, to attempt to determine in certain cases selected by the committee whether or not any remedial action has been or should be taken to prevent a like suit, including but not limited to repairs, use of different equipment or supplies, discipline of an employee or changes in agency policy, and to make recommendations to the committee for appropriate action.

(20) The Legislative Fiscal Office shall review the proposed executive budget for the ensuing fiscal year and report to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget whether the budget recommends appropriations out of the state general fund and dedicated funds for health care as contained in Schedule 09, Louisiana Department of Health, and for higher education as contained in Schedule 19, Higher Education and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Health Care Services Division, in amounts less than the appropriations for either purpose as contained for the same schedules in the existing operating budget for the current fiscal year as of the day the executive budget is submitted to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. Within seven days of the governor's submission of the executive budget to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget pursuant to R.S. 39:37, the Legislative Fiscal Office shall prepare and submit such report to the governor and the legislature.

Added by Acts 1973, No. 169, §1, eff. July 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1975, No. 414, §1; Acts 1981, No. 834, §1, eff. July 1, 1981; Acts 1981, No. 871, §2; Acts 1982, No. 372, §1; Acts 1984, No. 845, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1465, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 2013, No. 424, §1.