Committees Finance Committee Finance Committee Visits the New York State Legislature and the House of Commons, Ottawa , 28 April to 7 May, 2008
| Finance Committee Visits the New York State Legislature and the House of Commons, Ottawa , 28 April to 7 May, 2008 |
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A delegation of the Finance Committee of the Ghana Parliament made a study tour to the New York State Legislature and the House of Commons in Ottawa from 28 April to 7 May, 2008. During this visit the delegation reviewed the Executive Budget Process, and the role of the Senate Finance Committee and Assembly Ways and Means Committee in the budget process as well as strategies, procedures and processes for analysing and responding to executive proposal in the New York State Legislature. Also the role of lobbyist and budget policy think tanks such as the Fiscal Policy Institute, and other budget watchdog organisations in shaping budget discussions and fiscal oversight were reviewed during the visit. Another area examined was the role of the Research and Library Service in responding to the needs of legislators and legislative staff in budget analysis and review. Functions of the legislative budget and research offices in information retrieval, processing and analysis for the use of legislators were emphasized. In Ottawa, the processes leading to the establishment of the position and appointment of the Parliamentary Budget Officer were reviewed for the benefit of the group.The visits introduced MPs and staff to more efficient work techniques and legislative procedures to the extent possible including executive-legislative relations as it pertain to budget and other financial issues. |