Report Title:

Office of Legislative Analyst

 

Description:

Appropriates funds for the office of legislative analyst.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1429

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

making an appropriation for the office of legislative analyst.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. One of the primary functions of the legislature is to develop sound economic and fiscal policies for the State. The complexities of legislative decision-making and state budgeting require lawmakers to be provided with current and accurate fiscal data and analyses to aid in their lawmaking responsibilities. To address the need for the legislature to be able to base these policy decisions on well-researched information and analysis, Act 347, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 1990, was passed to provide the legislature with its own separate fiscal policy office.

Since the legislature meets for only four months of the year, it has come to rely heavily on the use of session-only staff or employees on loan from the executive branch. Hawaii is the only state in the nation using staff on temporary loan from executive agencies to support the work of its money committees. As a result, the legislature has been at a disadvantage in fulfilling its trust to the people of the State to ensure that approved appropriations are executed in compliance with legislative policy.

Other states have established nonpartisan, highly specialized legislative fiscal analysis offices, in addition to the professional staffs of each chamber's money committee, to review executive branch proposals and to appraise the performance of the executive branch in administering legislative enactment's.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds necessary to implement the provisions of Act 347, SLH 1990, for the establishment of the office of the legislative analyst.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002 and the sum of $1 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002-2003 to fund the office of the legislative analyst.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the legislature for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.

INTRODUCED BY:

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