Fiscal Affairs & Government Operations Committee

Since its creation, members of the Fiscal Affairs & Government Operations (FAGO) Committee have focused intensely on the myriad fiscal issues that impact on state budgets and finances. In the current era of depleted budgets and dwindling revenues, members of the FAGO Committee have been interested in exploring the experiences of their Southern state counterparts in devising strategies in their own states. The Committee’s membership includes many of the finance and appropriations chairs from across the South along with other prominent fiscal players, both legislators and legislative staff, in the different state legislatures. The Committee has most recently studied the impact of the federal budget on state finances; revenue forecasting in the 15-member states; health care reform; state fiscal trends; performance-based budgeting; e-commerce and taxation; the future of Medicare; implications of Social Security Trust Fund reforms; and the impact of large bank mergers in Southern states. In an effort to bolster ties between the South and the Federal Reserve Bank, the Committee has featured presentation on national and regional economic trends from the presidents of the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Dallas and St. Louis.