Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research Releases Summer 2007 Consensus Estimating Conference Schedule

The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research (“EDR”) recently released its Consensus Estimating Conference schedule for Summer, 2007.  To review the schedule, click here.

The EDR is a research arm of the Florida Legislature principally concerned with forecasting economic and social trends that affect policymaking, revenues and appropriations.

EDR provides objective information to committee staffs and members of the legislature in support of the policymaking process, and also publishes all of the official economic, demographic, revenue, and agency workload forecasts that are developed by Consensus Estimating Conferences.  These forecasts are then made available to the Legislature, state agencies, universities, research organizations, and the general public.

EDR, through a contract with the University of Florida, arranges for annual estimates of population of each city and county in Florida, which provide the basis for revenue sharing programs.

The State of Florida employs a somewhat unique process among the nation’s states for forecasting revenues. While in many states this responsibility lies within the executive branch, (for example, the Treasurer, Comptroller, or revenue collection agency), in Florida the authority for revenue forecasting is placed with a conference specifically designed for this purpose.

To read about Florida’s revenue estimating process, click here.

To review the statutes governing the estimating process, click here.

Should you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office.