National Association of Legislative Offices.

• Author: Zelio, Judy

Some members of the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices (NALFO) relish getting the most bang for their buck. Steve Klein, Vermont's fiscal director, reveals that he's never paid more than mid-four figures for a car. Bill Marx, chief fiscal analyst with the Minnesota House, has paid his own way to attend NCSL meetings, finding notable bargains in airfare and hotels in the process. Who are these frugal folks anyway?

Legislative fiscal analysts gather and analyze fiscal data (revenue and expenditure information) to assist legislators in making informed budget decisions. Their work makes it possible for the legislature to make budget decisions independent of the governor. Fiscal staff responsibilities may differ, depending upon the needs of their legislature. Almost all fiscal offices have a major responsibility to conduct fiscal research. They may staff budget or revenue committees, forecast revenues and expenditures, review and analyze agency budget requests and tax legislation, prepare recommendations for appropriations committees, devise legislative alternatives to executive budget recommendations, and write budget instructions for use by the executive branch.

Fiscal offices are highly specialized and professionalized staff units within the legislatures that generally fall into the following categories:

* Central nonpartisan offices.

* House and Senate nonpartisan offices.

* House and Senate majority or minority offices (or caucus/committee staff).

There may be more than one type of fiscal office in a state. Louisiana, for example, has three types: the Legislative Fiscal Office, the House Fiscal Division and Senate Fiscal Services. In general, more complex staff structures occur in populous, urbanized states. However, Texas, the nation's second most populous state with several major urban centers, has one central, nonpartisan fiscal office--the Legislative Budget Board--that is the primary source of fiscal data and analyses to both House and Senate budget committees.

All legislative fiscal analysts in the country are automatically members of NALFO, which sponsors a variety of professional development opportunities. The 2005 Fiscal Analysts Seminar is set for Sept. 6-8 in Chicago. The fiscal track at the NCSL Skills Development Seminar will take place in Denver, July 6-9.

Michael Calvert, director of Nebraska's Legislative Fiscal Office, became NALFO's president in July 2004 at the NCSL Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah...