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Independent Fiscal Office created as part of pension reform law
New office to provide independent budget data for lawmakers Packaged together with the recently enacted public pension reform law (Act 120 of 2010) was the creation of an Independent Fiscal Office for the Commonwealth, which will be charged with providing lawmakers an independent look at the state’s finances. Citing large discrepancies between the governor’s fiscal projections and actual revenues, which make constitutionally mandated balanced budgeting near impossible, lawmakers, led by Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, have advocated for the creation of such an office. Over the past two fiscal years, Pennsylvania’s revenue collections were $4.5 billion short of the administration’s projections, thereby leaving lawmakers with large holes to fill at budget crunch time. For example, in 2009 there was no consensus as to the percentage of growth, if any at all, the state may see during its economic recovery. And in 2010, a budget was adopted that relied upon $850 million in federal aid that was not guaranteed. Although Pennsylvania did receive some of that money, lawmakers still had to compensate for the shortfall. Currently, the governor has sole discretion to set revenue projections. The Independent Fiscal Office will be a Congressional Budget Office-like entity that will provide nonpartisan budget projections to the legislature. Currently, 36 other states and the federal government have similar offices that provide an accurate picture of fiscal conditions. Lawmakers hope that the establishment of this office will allow for more factual and responsible budget debates and ultimately avoid unrealistic revenue estimates that leave the budget process in jeopardy. ### Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business. |
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