STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1691

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.C.R. No. 157
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred
S.C.R. No. 157 entitled:

     "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO
     REVIEW AND IDENTIFY FISCALLY-RELATED POWERS CONFERRED UPON
     OR ASSUMED BY THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH SINCE 1987 THAT MAY BE
     RECLAIMED BY THE LEGISLATURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this Concurrent Resolution is to request the
Auditor to review and identify fiscally-related powers conferred
upon or assumed by the executive branch since 1987 that may be
reclaimed or reasserted by the Legislature.

     Your Committee finds that article VII, section 5 of the
Hawaii Constitution provides that "No public money shall be
expended except pursuant to appropriations made by law."
Nevertheless, while the Legislature holds the "power of the
purse" under the constitutional separation of powers doctrine,
the dominant role in fiscal affairs has apparently shifted over
time to the executive branch.

     In particular, under the rationale of the need for
flexibility, the executive branch has assumed increasingly more
discretionary authority on spending matters and has exercised
substantial discretionary authority as to how much can be spent
on the various programs of state government and how those

 
a                                                          SCR157
 
 
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1691
                                   Page 2


programs and projects are to be financed.  An example of
increased discretionary authority is the Governor's authority to
transfer appropriations from one program to another, one of the
most enduring of the flexibility provisions in the General
Appropriations Act.  Your Committee finds that the Legislature
must play a more dominant role in fiscal affairs for
representative government and the system of checks-and-balances
to work properly, and that the trend in favor of executive
flexibility and discretionary authority must be reviewed.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 157,
and recommends its adoption.

                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
a                                                          SCR157