Guidelines for Distinguising Between OLR and OFA Requests

Basically, the Office of Legislative Research does legal and policy-related research while the Office of Fiscal Analysis does tax, bond, and money-related research.  Deciding which office should respond to a particulary request is often easy but at times it can be unclear due to issue overlap or complex questions.

If the basic thrust of the request is legal (statutes or court cases) or policy or program descriptions or analysis, it should be directed to OLR.  Examples include requests such as (1) summarize the Supreme Court’s recent property tax decision, (2) describe the amendments to the circuit breaker law over the past five years, and (3) describe the various social services provided to poor people by agency A.  Retirement or pension issues for state or private employees or teachers go to OLR if they involve eligibility, descriptions of benefits, or general statutory descriptions of the laws.

If the basic thrust of the request is “how much state money” (tax or bond revenues or budget appropriations and expenditures, including costs or savings), it should be directed to OFA.  Examples include requests such as (1) how much does city X receive in PILOT grants, (2) what portion of department Y’s budget goes toward direct service programs as opposed to administrative costs, and (3) what have the bond allocations been over the last five years for construction and development of Z.  Retirement or pension issues for state employees or teachers go to OFA if their basic thrust is costs, savings, or the amount of someone’s benefits.

The decision should be based on the “basic thrust” of the request, since some overlap is inevitable.  For example, an OFA request about program expenditures might have to contain some descriptions of the programs, and an OLR request summarizing and describing programs might include some information about how much they cost.  The determining factor is the overall nature of what is being requested: money versus policy.    OLR analysts are strongly encouraged to consult with the appropriate OFA staff person concerning any request they work on that has more than a minor fiscal component.

Requests coming into OLR that seem to be fiscal in nature are given to the director for transmittal to OFA.  When a request does not clearly fall into one category or the other, the OLR and OFA directors confer and determine which office will be responsible for the request.

Legislators or staff who are unsure about which office to contact should not be concerned; contact either office and we will be sure to get your request to the proper place.