Legislators create own budget director

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Not content to just accept what the executive branch gives them, state lawmakers have hired their own legislative budget office director.

Dan Kowalski, who previously worked for the U.S. House Budget Committee and as an analyst in the Congressional Budget Office, was named to the position by the Joint Committee on Legislative Research.

Lawmakers hope the position will be a counterpart to the state Office of Budget and Planning, which falls under the governor's administration.

"It's important that the Legislature have information of the same caliber that the executive has," Kowalski said.

House Speaker Pro Tem Carl Bearden, R-St. Charles, said Thursday that when his party was in the minority a few years ago, he struggled to get information he wanted from state agencies, and saw the need for a legislative budget office. He said the independent office will be available to members of both parties, in the House and Senate, to help get their questions answered.

Legislative researchers already estimate what various bills will cost the state. But lawmakers sometimes question the results, which are largely based on information provided by state agencies affected by the proposals.

Bearden said the legislative budget director can help review those estimates after laws take effect to check their accuracy and figure out how to improve the process.

On the Net

• Legislature: www.moga.mo.gov