Montana Title 5. Legislative Branch § 5-12-101. Title and purpose of chapter

(1) This chapter may be cited as “The Legislative Finance and Data Analytics Act”.

(2) Because the legislature is responsible for appropriating public funds, it shall provide for fiscal analysis of state government to accumulate, compile, analyze, and furnish information on the financial matters of the state that is relevant to issues of policy and questions of statewide importance.

(3) Because the legislature is responsible for providing a comprehensive system of efficient governance, policy, and appropriations for the state and its political subdivisions, including local governments and schools, analysis of data across all aspects of government revenues, services, and funding is essential.

(4) Because the laws enacted by the legislature remain unless later changed by the legislature, appropriations may impact future generations, and tax and other law changes may impact the state's economy, the legislature needs a data tool to evaluate the impacts of legislation on future generations. The tool should be derived from reliable data sets and numeric in nature to allow the legislature to evaluate different assumptions and potential changes in law 20 years into the future.