Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT)

The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT), created by SB 1 in 2019, is a division within the Legislative Service Bureau intended to provide greater legislative oversight of state agency budgets. Duties of the Office include gathering information related to proposed agency budgets; evaluating the extent to which each agency fulfills its statutory responsibilities; determining the amount of revenue available to the agency from various sources; comparing current budget information to prior agency requests; and conducting an investigation of any agency as needed to fulfill its responsibilities. The Office is also authorized to conduct performance evaluations and independent comprehensive performance audits.

A 14-member bipartisan legislative committee appointed by the Speaker and the President Pro Tempore and co-chaired by the House and Senate Appropriations committee chairs oversees LOFT’s operations. The committee  approved LOFT’s first annual workplan in August 2020. LOFT released its first report, looking at revenue estimates by the State Board of Equalization, in January 2021; by August 2024, it had released 31 reports on subjects ranging from the Developmental Disabilities Services Waiting List to the state’s use of Coronavirus relief funds and federal education funding, among many others. In August 2024, LOFT initiated an investigation into spending concerns involved State Superintendent Ryan Walters.